we work hard, we party hard. we revolutionize, we socialize. we actualize, we realize. we nurture, we freak shit up. we culture, we funk it up. chill out, wild out, be free.

Urban Art Beata new black arts movementwe are raising funds for funds & equipment & special guest artist for Rikers, our international hip hop community featuring the The cipher and continuous work with the youth, so drink and party for a cause, never just cause but for a just cause.

for November and December our Urban Art Beat team rikers is working on a mixtape with two houses on the island. Jan we've applied assessments and more work, Feb we continue to groove. we need your help. any mp4/mp3/ipods headphones tablets recording equipment you have you want to donate please message me or email spirit@urbanartbeat.org. an official proposal /request soon come. also some of their works soon to be uploaded.

Thursday, February 8th, 2018

The Afro Yaqui Music Collective will be performing at Multicultural Artists Unite on February 8th. The band is an assemblage of revolutionary musicians that unite the musical traditions and the political struggles of Indigenous, African-American and Chican@ nations in the language of hip-hop and jazz.

We come with good news! In November 2017, over 100 delegates representing 19 countries and 12 indigenous nations gathered in the Venezuelan state of Yaracuy to collectively draft a planetary plan of action for the salvation of Mother Earth. Under the maroon leadership of three afro-descendant farming communities in the municipality of Veroes, we made a collective commitment to constitute the First Ecosocialist International: to reverse the destructive process of capitalism; to return to our origins and recuperate the ancestral spirituality of humanity; to live in peace, and end war. Founding delegates from this new International will report and share their plan of action--with Gizelxanath, Manuel, Ingrid Elísabet, and Matt Meyer.

The event is also a tribute to Oscar López Rivera, the Puerto Rican patriot imprisoned for over 35 years by the US for seditious conspiracy, was released in May 2017 and is coming to Southern California this February on a speaking tour. He has been in LA addressing Puerto Rico’s colonial status in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Revolutionary peace activist Matt Meyer will report from the front lines of the campaign to free Oscar and push for the decolonization of Puerto Rico.

Also speaking/performing will be Souel Spiritchild Fénix (Spiritchild) of a new black arts movement, the rEvolution of the original Black Arts Movement from 1965--that is internationalist, revolutionary matriarchal, eco-socialist, majority oppressed nationality leadership, and valuing the principles and characteristics of indigeneity and art equivalent to politics.

Ernesto Villalobos, Winston Byrd, Julz Powell, Alex Heflin and Beni Rossman make up an incredible band from Mexico and the United States, co-led by Gizelxanath and Ben Barson.

We invite you all to a soul session at MCAU, at830pm for an evening of soul shattering Green Destiny Weapon--bearing visions of a maroon-indigenous post-commodity future where Mother Earth reclaims primary in human relations.

The ASCAP Foundation has announced the 15 recipients of the 2018 Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Awards as well as 7 additional honorable mentions. The program, which was established in 2002 to encourage young gifted jazz composers up to the age of 30, is named in honor of trumpeter/composer/bandleader Herb Alpert in recognition of The Herb Alpert Foundation’s multi-year financial commitment to support this program. Additional funding for this program is provided by The ASCAP Foundation Bart Howard Fund. The recipients, who receive cash awards, range in age from 14 to 29, and are selected through a juried national competition. The ASCAP composer/judges for the 2018 competition were: Sylvie Courvoisier, Wycliffe Gordon, and Sachal Vasandani. In addition, one of the recipients of the Herb Alpert Awards will be featured during the 2018 Newport Jazz Festival in August.

NewMusicBox provides a space for those engaged with new music to communicate their experiences and ideas in their own words. Articles and commentary posted here reflect the viewpoints of their individual authors; their appearance on NewMusicBox does not imply endorsement by New Music USA.

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Sunday, January 28th, 2018

In November 2017, over 100 delegates representing 19 countries and 12 indigenous nations gathered in the Venezuelan state of Yaracuy to collectively draft a planetary plan of action for the salvation of Mother Earth. Under the maroon leadership of three afro-descendant farming communities in the municipality of Veroes, we made a collective commitment to constitute the First Ecosocialist International: to reverse the destructive process of capitalism; to return to our origins and recuperate the ancestral spirituality of humanity; to live in peace, and end war.

The Ecosocialist International is not a single organization or entity, but rather a common program of struggle, with moments of encounter and exchange, which anyone may join by committing themselves or their movements to fulfilling one or more of the many actions outlined in our shared plan of action.

We invite you all to a soul session at The Brooklyn Commons on Sunday, January 28th, at 7pm for an evening of conversation and live music, where founding delegates from the gathering will share their experiences from Venezuela and their plans for the future.

spiritchild was honored to dj and provide sound again this year for our political prisoners with a new black arts movement#anewblackartsmovement at MXCC's 22nd annual Dinner Tribute to the Families of our Political Prisoners/Prisoners of War! All proceeds go directly to the commissary accounts of our FREEDOM FIGHTERS! #freethemall

Yes, the location has changed, but the purpose and tradition remain the same.

All proceeds go to the commissary accounts of the PP/POWs represented at the Dinner.

This 22ndANNUAL DINNER TRIBUTE to the FAMILIES of our PPOWs is co-sponsored by the National Alumni Association of the Black Panther Party (NAABPP) with the theme, “HONORING THOSE WHO SPREAD THE WORD: Our Revolutionary Griots.”

Along with paying Tribute to our captured Freedom Fighters and their Families, we will also honor a few Movement media voices – Nayaba Arinde, editor of New York City’s Amsterdam News, Sally O’Brien, radio co-host/producer of WBAI’s Where We Live, Basir Mchawi, host of WBAI’s Education at the Crossroads, Solwazi Afi Olusola, DARA: Ancestral Beauty Photography and Ngoma, artist, poet and musician extraordinaire.

These folks have collectively kept the community informed and enlightened about our PPOWs and their Families as they’ve struggled against a criminally unjust legal and prison system.

For two decades and counting, it has been Freedom-loving folk like you who have helped carry this Dinner Tribute forward. We count on your continued commitment and support as we all carry our captured Freedom Fighters and their Families forward.

we work hard, we party hard. we revolutionize, we socialize. we actualize, we realize. we nurture, we freak shit up. we culture, we funk it up. chill out, wild out, be free.

Urban Art Beata new black arts movementwe are raising funds for funds & equipment & special guest artist for Rikers, our international hip hop community featuring the The cipher and continuous work with the youth, so drink and party for a cause, never just cause but for a just cause.

for November and December our Urban Art Beat team rikers is working on a mixtape with two houses on the island. Jan we've applied assessments and more work, Feb we continue to groove. we need your help. any mp4/mp3/ipods headphones tablets recording equipment you have you want to donate please message me or email spirit@urbanartbeat.org. an official proposal /request soon come. also some of their works soon to be uploaded.

we work hard, we party hard. we revolutionize, we socialize. we actualize, we realize. we nurture, we freak shit up. we culture, we funk it up. chill out, wild out, be free. dance to witches brew, sonic black magic bring in the new with friends family and fun, honoring year of the red rooster$75 prefix 9pm-1am 12AM champagnereservation for table

Urban Art Beata new black arts movementwe are raising funds for funds & equipment & special guest artist for Rikers, our international hip hop community featuring the The cipher and continuous work with the youth, so drink and party for a cause, never just cause but for a just cause.

we work hard, we party hard. we revolutionize, we socialize. we actualize, we realize. we nurture, we freak shit up. we culture, we funk it up. chill out, wild out, be free.

Urban Art Beata new black arts movementwe are raising funds for funds & equipment & special guest artist for Rikers, our international hip hop community featuring the The cipher and continuous work with the youth, so drink and party for a cause, never just cause but for a just cause.

for November and December our Urban Art Beat team rikers is working on a mixtape with two houses on the island. we need your help. any mp4/mp3/ipods headphones tablets recording equipment you have you want to donate please message me or email spirit@urbanartbeat.org. an official proposal /request soon come. also some of their works soon to be uploaded.

a new black arts movement is painting a new aesthetic, one in which we liberate ourselves from our oppressors. we are revolutionary matriarchal maroons.

this is a movement building upon the foundations of the black arts movement of the 1960’s founded by Baba Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Maya Angelou, Nikki Giovanni, all freedom fighters, and our many other ancestors long before and after in the struggle for liberation.

we have launched the reinvention, re-imagining the significance and necessity of a black arts movement for today that is: internationalist, revolutionary matriarchal, and eco-socialist. a movement supporting majority oppressed nationality leadership and valuing the principles and characteristics of indigeneity. a new black arts movement views art as equivalent to politics.

free the land. free ALL political prisoners.

a new black arts movement is a community built on the continuation of an ancestral legacy to persist and exist beyond resistance. it is a movement that redefines, re-envisions, re-imagines, a black centered consciousness and way of being. a new black arts movement is the movement of the maroons. maroons and maroonage embody existence, resistance, and all indigenous struggles for self-defense and self-determination.

a new black arts movement is:

… the continuation of an ancestral legacy of divinity, a movement that remembers and draws from our purpose. our purpose is to live in harmony with mother earth, holding her center to our being and live in accordance with the universal law of nurture, nature, and respect to all beings. we strive to remember an indigenous way, a way that acknowledges and considers seven generations before us and seven generations ahead to assist in the spiritual and physical evolution of our people.

…the continuation of an ancestral legacy to honor womyn. to be revolutionary matriarchs and re-socialize men to be mothers and nurturers. to see beyond gender and evolve beyond the conditions and limitations society has placed upon all of us, especially our sisters, mothers, and daughters.

...the continuation of an ancestral legacy to practice self-determination. an overstanding of the need for a maroon nationality identity and leadership to determine the destiny and path to liberation according to respective communities throughout the world that choose to resist and exist against and outside the walls of an oppressive state.

… the continuation of an ancestral legacy to recognize the power of art being equivalent to politics. executing and witnessing the impact art has on the transformation of the soul and the necessity of science to engage in effective revolutionary politics.

we work hard, we party hard. we revolutionize, we socialize. we actualize, we realize. we nurture, we freak shit up. we culture, we funk it up. chill out, wild out, be free.

Urban Art Beata new black arts movementwe are raising funds for funds & equipment & special guest artist for Rikers, our international hip hop community featuring the The cipher and continuous work with the youth, so drink and party for a cause, never just cause but for a just cause.

for November and December our Urban Art Beat team rikers is working on a mixtape with two houses on the island. we need your help. any mp4/mp3/ipods headphones tablets recording equipment you have you want to donate please message me or email spirit@urbanartbeat.org. an official proposal /request soon come. also some of their works soon to be uploaded.

we work hard, we party hard. we revolutionize, we socialize. we actualize, we realize. we nurture, we freak shit up. we culture, we funk it up. chill out, wild out, be free.

Urban Art Beata new black arts movementwe are raising funds for Puerto Rico, our newborn baby ría andstill raising funds for Rikers, our international hip hop summercamp featuring the The cipher and continous work with the youth, so drink and party for a cause, never just cause but for a just cause.

Sunday, October 15th, 2017

revolutionary matriarchy: witches brew, witches knew. mothers are not sick, so why hospitalization?engage in our communiversity around home birth, vaccinations and parenting. join our village as it takes one and many to raise our youth and a generation of revolutionary souls to unfold whats untold.www.anewblackartsmovement.com*logo by Ziedah Diata * photo by Debra Berniera new black arts movement

in the event we actually have our home birth, we will conduct a webinar on this day to facilitate the discussion.

a new black arts movement is painting a new aesthetic, one in which we liberate ourselves from our oppressors. we are revolutionary matriarchal maroons.

this is a movement building upon the foundations of the black arts movement of the 1960’s founded by Baba Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Maya Angelou, Nikki Giovanni, all freedom fighters, and our many other ancestors long before and after in the struggle for liberation.

we have launched the reinvention, re-imagining the significance and necessity of a black arts movement for today that is: internationalist, revolutionary matriarchal, and eco-socialist. a movement supporting majority oppressed nationality leadership and valuing the principles and characteristics of indigeneity. a new black arts movement views art as equivalent to politics.

free the land. free ALL political prisoners.

a new black arts movement is a community built on the continuation of an ancestral legacy to persist and exist beyond resistance. it is a movement that redefines, re-envisions, re-imagines, a black centered consciousness and way of being. a new black arts movement is the movement of the maroons. maroons and maroonage embody existence, resistance, and all indigenous struggles for self-defense and self-determination.

a new black arts movement is:

… the continuation of an ancestral legacy of divinity, a movement that remembers and draws from our purpose. our purpose is to live in harmony with mother earth, holding her center to our being and live in accordance with the universal law of nurture, nature, and respect to all beings. we strive to remember an indigenous way, a way that acknowledges and considers seven generations before us and seven generations ahead to assist in the spiritual and physical evolution of our people.

…the continuation of an ancestral legacy to honor womyn. to be revolutionary matriarchs and re-socialize men to be mothers and nurturers. to see beyond gender and evolve beyond the conditions and limitations society has placed upon all of us, especially our sisters, mothers, and daughters.

...the continuation of an ancestral legacy to practice self-determination. an overstanding of the need for a maroon nationality identity and leadership to determine the destiny and path to liberation according to respective communities throughout the world that choose to resist and exist against and outside the walls of an oppressive state.

… the continuation of an ancestral legacy to recognize the power of art being equivalent to politics. executing and witnessing the impact art has on the transformation of the soul and the necessity of science to engage in effective revolutionary politics.

Honoring the life of Brooklynite, honor student Nicholas Naquan Heyward Jr., whose life was stolen by NYPD in September of 1994. Come support and enjoy a day of creativity with the Nicholas Naquan Heyward Jr. Memorial Foundation as we celebrate and honor, what would have been Nicholas's 36th Birthday !

"remember not to forget. every day we remember not to forget. during the month of black august we concentrate and contribute towards this process of continuing a tradition of honoring our freedom warriors, victories, sacrifice and legacy" - Souel Spiritchild Fénix

"in order to be a true revolutionary, you must understand love. love, sacrifice, and death" - Sonia Sanchez

"a lot of people resist transition and therefore never allow themselves to enjoy who they are. embrace the change, no matter what it is; once you do, you can learn about the new world you're in and take advantage of it - Nikki Giovanni

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel" - Maya Angelou

"they can jail a revolutionary, but can’t jail the revolution” - Huey Newton.

“you can kill a revolutionary, but you can never kill the revolution” - Fred Hampton

during the month of black august we fast, regroup, recenter, rejuvenate, reassess, revolutionize, remember, reignite, reawaken, revive, reconcile… from sun up to sun down or 8am to 8pm we eat nothing but knowledge, we exercise, we cleanse our bodies, we talk less to listen more, we study, we grow, we heal, we honor, we pour intentional libations for each day of remembrance and significance. we drink water. lots. to nourish and strength the soul with this powerful element. we do not intake anything toxic (drugs, alcohol etc).if you are unable to join in this ritual as stated above you can still give up something during the month (sugar, coffee, sweets, cigarettes etc). its not how much or what you sacrifice, its the intention of your efforts and acknowledgements during the process.so a new black arts movement invites you to join us for this black august to remember not to forget and keep the spirit of our ancestors and those behind enemy lines and exiled front and center of our minds and actions. we are revolutionaries because we love our people. we do this out of love and for the love of our people. for the liberation of our minds, bodies and souls from oppression and because we know another world is not only possible but happening throughout the continents. we have seen our communities throughout the world and know we are aligned with purpose and we are divine. we have seen our resilience throughout continents and know they cannot kill the spirit of our souls, the legacy of our blood. they jail us because they want to control us. they kill us because they fear us. remember not to forget an us before there was a them. remember who they are. remember we are not them. remember.

a new black arts movement is painting a new aesthetic, one in which we liberate ourselves from our oppressors. we are revolutionary matriarchal maroons.

this is a movement building upon the foundations of the black arts movement of the 1960’s founded by Baba Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Maya Angelou, Nikki Giovanni, all freedom fighters, and our many other ancestors long before and after in the struggle for liberation.

we have launched the reinvention, re-imagining the significance and necessity of a black arts movement for today that is: internationalist, revolutionary matriarchal, and eco-socialist. a movement supporting majority oppressed nationality leadership and valuing the principles and characteristics of indigeneity. a new black arts movement views art as equivalent to politics.

free the land. free ALL political prisoners.

a new black arts movement is a community built on the continuation of an ancestral legacy to persist and exist beyond resistance. it is a movement that redefines, re-envisions, re-imagines, a black centered consciousness and way of being. a new black arts movement is the movement of the maroons. maroons and maroonage embody existence, resistance, and all indigenous struggles for self-defense and self-determination.

a new black arts movement is:

… the continuation of an ancestral legacy of divinity, a movement that remembers and draws from our purpose. our purpose is to live in harmony with mother earth, holding her center to our being and live in accordance with the universal law of nurture, nature, and respect to all beings. we strive to remember an indigenous way, a way that acknowledges and considers seven generations before us and seven generations ahead to assist in the spiritual and physical evolution of our people.

…the continuation of an ancestral legacy to honor womyn. to be revolutionary matriarchs and re-socialize men to be mothers and nurturers. to see beyond gender and evolve beyond the conditions and limitations society has placed upon all of us, especially our sisters, mothers, and daughters.

...the continuation of an ancestral legacy to practice self-determination. an overstanding of the need for a maroon nationality identity and leadership to determine the destiny and path to liberation according to respective communities throughout the world that choose to resist and exist against and outside the walls of an oppressive state.

… the continuation of an ancestral legacy to recognize the power of art being equivalent to politics. executing and witnessing the impact art has on the transformation of the soul and the necessity of science to engage in effective revolutionary politics.

a new black arts movement is painting a new aesthetic, one in which we liberate ourselves from our oppressors. we support all indigenous struggles for self-defense and self-determination.our soul sessions are community spaces where we connect, express, build and create this vision toward prefiguring a new society.

a new black arts movement acknowledges that in order for liberation, true and revolutionary education must be celebrated and accepted. we imagine a world where all children are afforded the quality education of the wealthy, where culture is at the forefront of lessons, and where children have the freedom to explore their skills and talents beyond teacher expectations. We prefigure a world where educational institutions are community spaces and where children are given the tools to change the society in which they live.

a new black arts movement acknowledges that all love is revolutionary, and we prefigure a new society in which all love is celebrated and accepted. we imagine a world in which heteronormative, monogamous love and the nuclear family model are not the social norm, and we celebrate freedom, love, equality, and justice. our space is a prefigurative space where we cook wholesome foods, share our art, and encourage participation in art and a genderqueer clothing swap.

this is a movement building off the original black arts movement of the 1960's founded by baba amiri baraka, sonia sanchez, maya angelou, and our many other ancestors in the struggle for liberation. we honor all of our elders and our youth, together taking it to a new level with our principles. we are matriarchal, mother earth centered, and maroon nationality and identity.

Friday, July 14th, 2017

6-7 will be for anyone who wants to meet about straedgies for movement work.

730- beyond, fun and relaxing come and go event

OPEN MIC AND TEACH IN AND SPEAK OUT WILL HAPPEN AT SOMETIME... ALL AGES PARTY! YOUTH ARE ENCOURAGED TO COME AND IF THEY WANT GET ON THE MIC!

Its time we party, get to know eachother and have fun while organizing and talking about how to create a Collective CommUnityin the Northside, aka, the HILL ...

What is this party? Who will be there? Why we do this?

This gathering and inspirational community session invites us to come together to heal, to celebrate, to honor all our ways of being through unconditional revolutionary love and soul

We will have sounds and revolutionary artist from South Bronx by way of Brooklyn conducting the energy and the frequenties of the people, contributing to the pulse of young people’s musical & social heartbeat, organizing revolutionaries internationally and co-founder of a new black arts movement

"My hope is that we can share tactics, strategies, stories and soundtracks of resistance. our purpose is liberation. from the dance floor to the streets, from the heart through beats, from the mind a science deep, from the soul truth speaks"

We will have some refreshments, this is a commUNITY event, so please bring anything you want to share food wise. Bring a grill if you want to. lol Bring a chair, I have a few, but more are welcome! Bring Ideas for what you want to see about the Save Our Hoops issue, as we will have a HUGE vision Board and crafts for ppl to use .

I have cats, so if you are allergic, please do not come inside to use the bathroom etc, I dont want anyone getting sick!

This is a new kind of party. I hope you join us

Wednesday, July 12th, 2017

Bronx Defenders

BXD's annual block party - 12p

East 160th Street between Courtlandt and Melrose Avenues Bronx, New York [map]

Price: free

It’s that time again!

Get ready for the Annual Bronx Defenders Community Block Party! featuring spiritchild

Come join us for a day of music & dance, free food, pony rides, carnival games, health & legal info, voter registration, community advocacy groups, and much more.

On the occasion of the commemoration of the 311th anniversary of Yaya Kimpa Vita (6 July 1706) we (re)discover the epic story of the Mother of the African Revolution. We will speak of Africa from ancient times, outside of ancient times or the notion of time and outside of all colonialism and neo-colonialism. We will commemorate and study the resistance of indigenous peoples and women.

During this soul session we wish to create a space of freedom, of exchange and creation of a new society, liberated from the chains of the past.

a new black arts movement is painting a new aesthetic, one in which we liberate ourselves from our oppressors. a new black arts movement supports all indigenous struggles for self-defense and self-determination.Our soul sessions are community spaces where we connect, express, build and create this vision toward prefiguring a new society.

DESCRIPTION

Bringing jazz, funk, and hip-hop into dialogue with indigenous music of the 21st century, the Afro Yaqui Music Collective (AYMC) is a nine-piece outfit that descends from West African, global Indigenous, and East Asian musical traditions. Co-led by Gizelxanath Rodriguez, a Mexican operatic vocalist of Yaqui descent and an internationally performing soprano and activist, and saxophonist and Fred Ho protégé Ben Barson, the band creates a new rhythm that liberates spirit and soul.

All workshops take place at Casita Maria Center for Arts & Education 928 Simpson Street.

Performances take place outside at Monsignor Del Valle Square Hunts Point Avenue and Bruckner Boulevard.

In case of rain, performances will be moved inside to Casita Maria Center for Arts & Education.

All Boro-Linc events are free and open to the public. These events are recommended for all ages and their family members, unless otherwise noted. All children must be accompanied by an adult.

Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please arrive early to secure your seats. Any reserved seats will become available to the waitlist ten minutes before each performance.

Major support for Boro-Linc is provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

Generous support facilitated by The Honorable City Council Members Jimmy Van Bramer, and I. Daneek Miller

Created in 2010, VISUAL CAFFEINE is a monthly show focusing on bringing true Hip Hop culture to the masses.With interviews, live performances and animation we hope to entertain and educate at the same time.

Silent Barn is a collectively directed art space in Brooklyn, New York. Functioning round-the-clock as a center of multidisciplinary experimentation, Silent Barn is a place to produce, present, and interact with art of all forms.

In addition to hosting public performances and events, Silent Barn is home to a complex of studio and living spaces which serve as an experimental sandbox and public platform for a variety of individual artistic, cultural, and entrepreneurial projects. Residents live and work amid artistic activity as caretakers of Silent Barn, extending a feeling of welcome to audiences and artists.

Silent Barn is a non-hierarchical organization in which all members are equally empowered; it is a social and administrative experiment. Collective curation brings together diverse artistic practices, creating a climate which uniquely supports accessibility, discovery, interaction, and participation. Eclectic programing showcases both emerging and established artists, and gives a wide variety of communities the space to form, connect and develop.

Legalizing the all-ages, DIY ethos enables Silent Barn to engage with the broader public. Its financial model disperses sources of support to preserve autonomous, multilateral decision-making and curation. Silent Barn exists thanks to the donations of hundreds of individuals, and operates through extensive volunteer support.

GUERRILLA REPUBLIK draws it's INSPIRATION from the first successful Slave Revolt in Haiti 1794, this rebellion exemplifies UNITY, STRENGTH, DETERMINATION and THE WILL OF GOD. OUR MISSION is to STIMULATE MINDS and EXPAND THE DYNAMICS of THINKING in our inner cities and motivate individuals to take a proactive approach to life through EDUCATION, SELF RELIANCE and PREPAREDNESS. Only The Real Feel This.

Hit the stage with your resistance poetry. Event will be streamed live for the world to see what resistance poets are up to in NYC. We are showing the world, who we truly are - decent human beings, who care for each other.

Featured poets + open mic$10 cover​

Friday, May 19th, 2017

Westbury Inn

xspiritmental maroons indigenous black free(dom) dance party II - 10p

673 Flatbush Avenue Brooklyn, New York 11226 United States 9173730461 [map]

Saturday, April 29th, 2017

... or use your own description when you like thinking outside the boxa collage, a multimedia display of blackness with a focus on music, word/theatre, visual arts as well as participatory community dialogue

We intend to galvanise already active and those interested in acting upon prefiguring a new society with a new aesthetic through our cultural display. We will escort our audience through a revolutionary herstorical narrative that highlights the beauty, honour and celebratory elements of blackness before slavery, oppression and neo-colonialism.

We will first have creative discourse through action to illustrate the practicality of struggle with a context of possibilities that date back to a time before our imagination was suppressed. Our dialogue will engage the audience to remember a time before the time of now, the multiple ways of living not only in harmony with each other but most importantly in harmony with Mother Earth, the center of all life force and creation. This dialogue will be followed by an auditory quest starting with the drum, the heart beat and pulse of African peoples and indigenous peoples and all peoples throughout the world. We will then through this auditory quest sonically orchestrate the conversation from the dialogue and interweave it into a musical language that we can all gather and contribute through a communal symphonic vibration. This dialogue and auditory quest will be complemented by live visuals as well as projected imagery to echo the necessity of blackness.

This aesthetically rhythmic gathering and dialogue between community and artistic guides will illustrate the interpretation and articulation of the colour of maroonage. We will break free from the plantation and the shackles that do not allow our minds to imagine a time when we lived harmoniously with each other and with Mother Earth. The active participatory agents will then see not only the possibilities but the importance to prefigure a new society that is inclusive of all peoples. Blackness becomes a catalyst in which we engage and dialogue, however it is not our destination, it is an opening and a reminder to speak of Blackness and the liberation of African peoples, one must also in the same breath highlight the struggles of indigenous peoples, women and oppressed peoples throughout the world. It is only then that we will truly have freedom for all and witness our dream realised into a reality.

Practically, we want to create a full day programme that is a sonic display of a live curated improvisational artistic piece consisting of the following blocks:

- DJ break (16h - 16h30) - Creative process sparked by gallery walk, extension of the dialogue through what has been shared (16h30 - 18h) - Creative process through small groups that will create an artistic piece (18h - 19h) - DJ break with food (19h - 20h) - Performances what the community has created along with other artists and the musicians and a continuation of the visual art creation (20h - 22h) - Dance party: music that will have us remember, think, reflect and celebrate Blackness (22h - 00h)

Come and live a revolutionary herstorical narrative that highlights the beauty, honour and celebratory elements of blackness before slavery, oppression and neo-colonialism.This rhythmic gathering, dialogue and co-creation will illustrate the interpretation and articulation of the colour of maroonage. We will break free from the plantation and the shackles that do not allow our minds to imagine a time when we lived harmoniously with each other and with Mother Earth. Blackness becomes a catalyst in which we engage and dialogue, however it is not our destination, it is an opening and a reminder to speak of Blackness and the liberation of African peoples, one must also in the same breath highlight the struggles of indigenous peoples, women and oppressed peoples throughout the world. It is only then that we will truly have freedom for all and witness our dream realized into a reality.

A new black arts movement is painting a new aesthetic, one in which we liberate ourselves from our oppressors. A new black arts movement supports all indigenous struggles for self-defense and self-determination.Our soul sessions are community spaces where we connect, express, build and create this vision toward prefiguring a new society.

Saturday, April 8th, 2017

free your mind and your ass will followthe revolution within you without you

revolutionary workshop and dj setby Spiritchild, freedom artist, dj and organizer from New Yorkpresented by a new black arts movement

Saturday 8th of April, 2017 at Le Space19:00 – Welcome 00:00 – EndLanguage: English, translation possible in French & Dutch€ 5 suggested donation, youth free, no one turned awayvisualize, realize, strategize and actualize. you are what's needed. you are who you've been waiting for. you are the I in community that unites us so we may never be defeated. from hip hop to cop watch. from thoughts to action. join us as we continue to prefigure a new society with the ideas and ideals we collectively manifest. celebrate our victories and selves as we have a maroon after party to dance to the beat of a multiversal drum.

Maliki Shakur Latine is a former Black Panther who walked out of Shawangunk Correctional Facility on December 6, 2016, released on parole, after 37 years behind the walls! Learn more about Maliki here:https://justiceformaliki.org/about/

a new black arts movement is painting a new aesthetic, one in which we liberate ourselves from our oppressors. we are revolutionary matriarchal maroons.

This is a movement building upon the foundations of the Black Arts Movement of the 1960’s founded by Baba Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Maya Angelou, Nikki Giovanni, all freedom fighters, and our many other ancestors long before and after in the struggle for liberation.

We have launched the reinvention, re-imagining the significance and necessity of a Black Arts Movement for today that is: internationalist, revolutionary matriarchal, and eco-socialist. A movement supporting majority oppressed nationality leadership and valuing the principles and characteristics of indigeneity. A new black arts movement views art as equivalent to politics.

Through our unique San Francisco-based digital multimedia training program, youth participants learn multimedia arts and filmmaking, develop creative voice through storytelling, gain marketable technology skills, and become involved in the community as media producers and young leaders.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Guerrilla Republik | www.guerrillarepublik.org

GUERRILLA REPUBLIK draws it's INSPIRATION from the first successful Slave Revolt in Haiti 1794, this rebellion exemplifies UNITY, STRENGTH, DETERMINATION and THE WILL OF GOD. OUR MISSION is to STIMULATE MINDS and EXPAND THE DYNAMICS of THINKING in our inner cities and motivate individuals to take a proactive approach to life through EDUCATION, SELF RELIANCE and PREPAREDNESS. Only The Real Feel This.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Urban Art Beat | www.urbanartbeat.org

Urban Art Beat is a platform for creative expression, partnering talented artists and dedicated volunteers with under served schools and organizations. We believe that creative expression through the arts has the potential to enhance the mind, spirit and artistic energy of our youth and engage them in shaping a vision for their community’s future.We empower youth, fight educational injustice, and reduce dropout rates by creating reliable partnerships and innovative projects through Hip Hop culture and arts education.

honoring the ancestors through xspiritmental hip hop frequencies. prefiguring a new society through the imagination of lyrical storytelling, channeling and connecting. members from a new black arts movement ensemble will soul share. be the instrumentation for this exploration and join the vibration.

Join us March 19th for a CommUniversity on current resistance movements to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement,) Xenophobia and Racism.The afternoon will include a Know Your Rights workshop, resource sharing and inspiring stories of resistance!Maroons live communally and choose to be off the plantation. Maroons include Africans, Seminoles and whites who were in solidarity with liberation efforts. Maroons resist to exist and exist to resist.

place: The Brooklyn Commons388 Atlantic Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11217

entry: $10 donation - no one turned away with maroon exchange (see below) youth are always freethere will be food and refreshments available for purchase

Learn and share your maroonage… Bring something of sentimental and or personal value for a maroon exchange (to substitute the entry fee) as we experiment with alternative exchanges to capitalism in our maroonvillage.

maroons trade in the illusion of democracy and freedom, the false pretense of equality and integration, for a celebration of our indigenous blood, ancestral heritage and creative souls. there is no room for validation, assimilation, or mis-education from those who have historically denied us complete emancipation. we hold ourselves accountable for sustaining our communities and providing the necessary tools for liberation.

a new black arts movement is painting a new aesthetic, one in which we liberate ourselves from our oppressors. we support all indigenous struggles for self-defense and self-determination.our soul sessions are community spaces where we connect, express, build and create this vision toward prefiguring a new society.

a new black arts movement acknowledges that in order for liberation, true and revolutionary education must be celebrated and accepted. we imagine a world where all children are afforded the quality education of the wealthy, where culture is at the forefront of lessons, and where children have the freedom to explore their skills and talents beyond teacher expectations. We prefigure a world where educational institutions are community spaces and where children are given the tools to change the society in which they live.

a new black arts movement acknowledges that all love is revolutionary, and we prefigure a new society in which all love is celebrated and accepted. we imagine a world in which heteronormative, monogamous love and the nuclear family model are not the social norm, and we celebrate freedom, love, equality, and justice. our space is a prefigurative space where we cook wholesome foods, share our art, and encourage participation in art and a genderqueer clothing swap.

this is a movement building off the original black arts movement of the 1960's founded by baba amiri baraka, sonia sanchez, maya angelou, and our many other ancestors in the struggle for liberation. we honor all of our elders and our youth, together taking it to a new level with our principles. we are matriarchal, mother earth centered, and maroon nationality and identity.

Friday, March 10th, 2017

On Friday, March 10 at 7PM, ShoutHouse returns to The Bitter End to present new works from our upcoming album, CityScapes, featuring singer Hannah Zazz and experimental hip hop artist spiritchild.

The music of CityScapes draws from the stories of New York through time and place, told by artists hailing from all corners of this eclectic city. Weaving threads of classical, hip-hop, and jazz, this music reflects many aspects of New York, from its colonial and geological past (“Mannahatta”), its awe-inspiring constellational nature (“Grand Central,” “Ancient Tools”), its flowing perpetuity (“Ants,” “Viscous”), and a vision towards its future (“Rebuild”).

maroons trade in the illusion of democracy and freedom, the false pretense of equality and integration, for a celebration of our indigenous blood, ancestral heritage and creative souls. there is no room for validation, assimilation, or mis-education from those who have historically denied us complete emancipation. we hold ourselves accountable for sustaining our communities and providing the necessary tools for liberation.

a new black arts movement is painting a new aesthetic, one in which we liberate ourselves from our oppressors. we support all indigenous struggles for self-defense and self-determination.our soul sessions are community spaces where we connect, express, build and create this vision toward prefiguring a new society.

a new black arts movement acknowledges that in order for liberation, true and revolutionary education must be celebrated and accepted. we imagine a world where all children are afforded the quality education of the wealthy, where culture is at the forefront of lessons, and where children have the freedom to explore their skills and talents beyond teacher expectations. We prefigure a world where educational institutions are community spaces and where children are given the tools to change the society in which they live.

a new black arts movement acknowledges that all love is revolutionary, and we prefigure a new society in which all love is celebrated and accepted. we imagine a world in which heteronormative, monogamous love and the nuclear family model are not the social norm, and we celebrate freedom, love, equality, and justice. our space is a prefigurative space where we cook wholesome foods, share our art, and encourage participation in art and a genderqueer clothing swap.

this is a movement building off the original black arts movement of the 1960's founded by baba amiri baraka, sonia sanchez, maya angelou, and our many other ancestors in the struggle for liberation. we honor all of our elders and our youth, together taking it to a new level with our principles. we are matriarchal, mother earth centered, and maroon nationality and identity.

Year of the Rooster! with the Afro Yaqui Music Collective featuring spiritchild (nyc), Min Xiao-Fen and Gizelxanath

Sat, January 28, 2017

7:30 pm

Ginny's Supper Club

New York, NY

$15.00

Come celebrate Chinese New Year as we enter the Year of the Rooster--at Red Rooster. The Afro Yaqui Music Collective will be collaborating with the legendary Pipa virtuoso Min Xiao-Fin, whom the The New York Times has called "a pipa player like no other," and the Village Voice proclaims has "taken ancient Chinese string music into the future." With The Afro Yaqui Music Collective, Min Xiao-Fen will be performing her "From Harlem to Shanghai and back" suite, a tribute to Count Basie trumpter Buck Clayton's performances in China in the 1930s.

The Afro Yaqui Music Collective will also be performing works by the late, guggenheim award-winning Fred Ho, whose revolutionary Moneky Orchestra combined grooving jazz-funk with Peking Opera styles and wild improvisation. Met Opera soprano Gizelxanath Rodriguez will be singing a fusion between Peking Opera, Indigenous Yaqui music and the jazz-blues tradition that will bring 2017 in swining.

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Afro Yaqui Music Collective

The Afro Yaqui Music Collective is a 9-piece outfit which descends from Fred Ho's Afro Asian revolutionary ensembles and musical concepts. Led by Ben Barson, Ho's Baritone protege who "he felt has the heft and sound to represent [Ho's] assertive approach (The New York Times)," the band will include alumni's of Ho's groups such as trumpet maestro Mark McGowan and trombonist Aaron Johnson, as well as a new generation of musical warriors.

Year of the Rooster withThe Afro Yaqui Music Collectivefeaturing spitichild (NYC) and Gizelxanath

Come bring 2017 in cross-cultural style as we enter the Year of the Rooster at the James Street Ballroom.The Afro Yaqui Music Collective will be performing works by the late, guggenheim award-winning Fred Ho, whose revolutionary Moneky Orchestra combined grooving jazz-funk with Peking Opera styles and wild improvisation. Met Opera soprano Gizelxanath Rodriguez will be singing a fusion between Peking Opera, Indigenous Yaqui music and the jazz-blues tradition that will bring 2017 in swining.

The band will be joined by hip-hop artist and activist spiritchild from Brooklyn, who is long been an activist in movements of Afro-Asian solidarity in fighting back racism and police brutalitiy.The Afro Yaqui Music Collective is a 9-piece outfit which descends from Fred Ho's Afro Asian revolutionary ensembles and musical concepts. Led by Ben Barson, Ho's Baritone protege who "he felt has the heft and sound to represent [Ho's] assertive approach (The New York Times)," the band will include alumni's of Ho's groups such as trumpet maestro Mark McGowan and trombonist Aaron Johnson, as well as a new generation of musical innovators.

honoring the ancestors through xspiritmental hip hop frequencies. prefiguring a new society through the imagination of lyrical storytelling, channeling and connecting. members from a new black arts movement ensemble will soul share. be the instrumentation for this exploration and join the vibration.

for a panel and community discussion on best practices for respecting our youth in all their glory and diversity! panelists will range from veteran teaching artists who have successfully engaged incarcerated youth to community leaders, local youth and public school teachers engaging in inclusive and restorative practices daily!

in order to rise up against a system of sanctioned discrimination,it is important that we share and support what works in the field of youth liberation.

October 22, 2016: 21st National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation

Saturday, 10/2212:00PM assemble in front of the Harlem State Office Building at 163 W. 125th Street on the corner of Adam Clayton Powell for a rally and a march(A/B/C/D/2/3 trains to 125th Street)

A Stolen Lives Induction Ceremony in Harlem will follow. More details TBA.

October 22nd is a day that people around the nation have mobilized every year since 1996 for a National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation. It is crucial that we bring forward a powerful National Day of Protest in cities and towns across the U.S. to challenge the ongoing violence against the people. This October 22nd, stand with thousands across the country to express our collective outrage, creativity, and resistance in response to the crimes of this system. On October 22nd, WEAR BLACK, FIGHT BACK!

JOIN US if there is already an October 22nd event in your area. CREATE one if you are in an area where there is currently no group organizing. For listings of activities in your area, check the website www.october22.org

Tuesday, October 18th, 2016

ShoutHouse is a chamber orchestra of classical, hip-hop, and jazz musicians. They strive to create a platform for talented artists from any background to express themselves on one stage. By focusing on telling a story through notes, structures, and words, they hope to achieve a new form of expression that reconnects thoughtful, powerful music with a widespread audience.

Tuesday, OCTOBER 18 at 6:30PM

CARNEGIE HILL CONCERTS at Church of the Advent Hope

111 East 87th St. (at Park Avenue)

FREE ADMISSION

A suggested donation $20 for adults and $10 for students and seniors will go entirely to support the sponsorship of a refugee family by series organizers.

Tuesday, October 11th, 2016

Hosted by Arts For Art / Vision, and part of the Evolving: Raza y Resistencia / Race & Resistance festival, the Afro Yaqui Music Collective is honored to be a part of a concert to think beyond the spectre of Columbus as we celebrate the 7th generational conciousness and activism of First peoples. Gizelxanath will be sharing the music of Toztil (Mayan) and Nahutual cultures in order to affect change here and now. With special performances by Spiritchild XspiritMental, Kento Iwasaki, Julian Litwack, Quincy Saul, Alfredo Colón, Dan Kurfirst, Samuel Okoh-Boateng, and Ben Barson.

“We welcome the young of all groups, as our own with the solid nourishment of food and warmth,we prepare the way with the solid nourishment of self-actualization,we implore all the young to prepare for the youngbecause always there will be children.”(excerpt of) Always there are the children – Nikki Giovanni

What do our youth want to create beyond the limitations of the current systems and –isms of today?How do they see the future of their generation and generations to come and what are their ideas to start living it today?How can we as a community support the youth to self-determine the society they want to live in?

During this soul session the youth will lead the dialogue and give their views on current day youth work and projects such as ‘The c.i.p.h.e.r.’ and ‘De Stroate’. We will go back in time to go forward and practice indigenous ways of gathering in a circle, of honouring generations, of practicing listening, of sharing food, art and stories, of creating strategies and aligning our actions.

A new black arts movement is painting a new aesthetic, one in which we liberate ourselves from our oppressors. A new black arts movement supports all indigenous struggles for self-defense and self-determination.Our soul sessions are community spaces where we connect, express, build and create this vision toward prefiguring a new society.

beyond being “woman-centric”, a revolutionary matriarch calls for the elimination of gender as a social construction all together. to be matri (mother) centric is to place value on the universal conditions of nurturance, education, healing, sustainability, etc. the development of a healthy society should not be marginalized by gender and its social/behavioral implications. we are to take responsibility for these essential values of development as a society. we are to undo hetero-normative patriarchy while working to re-socialize men as mothers.

revolutionary matriarchy is not a mirror of patriarchy- but it’s opposite.

adapted from F.Ho.

Showing excerpts from "Amor Puro y Duro" (Love Hard and Pure), a documentary in progress by Catherine Gund & Daresha Kyi, an evocative, thought-provoking journey through the iconoclastic life of game-changing artist Chavela Vargas. Centered around neverbefore-seen interview footage of Chavela shot 20 years before her death in 2012, and guided by the stories inChavela’s songs, and the myths and tales others have told about her – as well as those she spread about herself –the film weaves an arresting portrait of a woman who dared to dress, speak, sing, and dream her unique life into being.

***Meditation worksop by Lauren Kelly Benson. We will learn to heal our own traumas and those of our ancesstresses***

Place: Bailey's Cafe324 Malcolm X BlvdBrooklyn, NY

Entry: $10 donation - no one turned awayyouth are always freethere will be food and refreshments available for purchase

Contact: rosaleen@urbanartbeat.comspiritchild@xspiritmental.com

A New Black Arts Movement is painting a new aesthetic, one in which we liberate ourselves from our oppressors. A New Black Arts Movement supports all indigenous struggles for self-defense and self-determination. A New Black Arts Movement acknowledges that all love is revolutionary, and we prefigure a new society in which all love is celebrated and accepted. We imagine a world in which heteronormative, monogamous love and the nuclear family model are not the social norm, and we celebrate freedom, love, equality, and justice.

A New Black Arts Movement acknowledges that in order for liberation, true and revolutionary education must be celebrated and accepted. We imagine a world where all children are afforded the quality education of the wealthy, where culture is at the forefront of lessons, and where children have the freedom to explore their skills and talents beyond teacher expectations. We prefigure a world where educational institutions are community spaces and where children are given the tools to change the society in which they live.

Our monthly Soul Sessions are community spaces where we connect, express, build and create. It is a prefigurative space where we cook wholesome foods, share our art, and encourage participation in art and a genderqueer clothing swap. This is a movement building off the original Black Arts Movement of the 1960's founded by Baba Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Maya Angelou, and our many other ancestors in the struggle for liberation. We honor all of our elders and our youth, together taking it to a new level with our principles. We are matriarchal, mother earth centered, and maroon nationality and identity. If you are serious about being a revolutionary... Read up. Be at the next Soul Sessions. And let's build. - See more at www.anewblackartsmovement.com

Saturday, September 17th, 2016

745 Annual Block Party: Community Family DayCome out and hang with family & friends who you haven't seen in a while...or maybe love to see all the time!!!Bring love and fun...its a family affair 745 style!!!

***********************************************Open for all Ages and all you have to do is bring something to keep it going...bring anything from paper goods, food, snacks, drinks, jokes, memories, games to share with the youth....and anything to keep it going until!!

Saturday, September 10th, 2016

$10 gets you in, $15 gets you a keg cup! Completely affordable bar available as well! Volunteers needed! Work the door, clean a little, or sling some drinks for a shift and get in for free!

Did we mention the DJs?! We have some powerhouse talent and players!! Rabbi Darkside! Raydar Ellis! FXWRK!! Spiritchild! And More!! The dance floor will be off the hook! Perfect place to dance your way into the new "school year."

We're here to serve the youth and that costs money! We live and love Hiphop and serve through our Critical Revolutionary Hiphop Pedagogy, so what better way to raise funds than a good old fashioned house party?!

This year is bringing some exciting new possibilities. In addition to finishing up funding for our completely free, dinner included, intensive Summer Camp for Social Justice in which the youth have a week to write, practice, and perform a song about the important topic or community issue of their choice, we're looking ahead.

Urban Art Beat has been invited to provide programming for incarcerated youth at Rikers Island. One of the most notorious jails in a country full of notorious jails is giving us an opportunity to serve. Fervent opponents of the School to Prison Pipeline, we want to get in there and empower! We want youth in the system to know its not the end for them and that there are opportunities and power to be found in their own voices!

But we need your help. Riker's certainly ain't paying for it. We need to cover costs associated with this program.

So come! Dance! Imbibe! Support! And let's party while we raise enough to serve at Rikers in addition to the schools, after school programs, and community organizations where we already serve!

Honoring the life of Brooklynite, honor student Nicholas Naquan Heyward Jr., whose life was stolen by NYPD in September of 1994. Come support and enjoy a day of creativity with the Nicholas Naquan Heyward Jr. Memorial Foundation as we celebrate and honor, what would have been Nicholas's 35th Birthday !This event is co- sponsored by The Legacy Eric Garner Left Behind...

Music by Masters of Sounds!Live Performances by Spiritchild and Urban Art Beat, Ty Black, Peace Poets, Aidge and more!

Join us for our Black August CommUniversity as we learn from the past and unite with active forces in the present to bring about change. This Communiversity will highlight and discuss the benefits (and pitfalls) of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense as well share current local and international movements focusing on liberation, maroon leadership and art as a political force.

Our host and ally, Emmy Award winning filmmaker, Lisa Russell will speak on her current initiative, Ï Sell the Shadow (a growing artist collective using conscious art for the social good).

A New Black Arts Movement is painting a new aesthetic, one in which we liberate ourselves from our oppressors. A New Black Arts Movement supports all indigenous struggles for self-defense and self-determination. A New Black Arts Movement acknowledges that all love is revolutionary, and we prefigure a new society in which all love is celebrated and accepted. We imagine a world in which heteronormative, monogamous love and the nuclear family model are not the social norm, and we celebrate freedom, love, equality, and justice.

A New Black Arts Movement acknowledges that in order for liberation, true and revolutionary education must be celebrated and accepted. We imagine a world where all children are afforded the quality education of the wealthy, where culture is at the forefront of lessons, and where children have the freedom to explore their skills and talents beyond teacher expectations. We prefigure a world where educational institutions are community spaces and where children are given the tools to change the society in which they live.

Our monthly alternating Soul Sessions & CommUniversities are community spaces where we connect, express, build and create. It is a prefigurative space where we cook wholesome foods, share our art, and encourage participation in art and rEvolution. This is a movement building off the original Black Arts Movement of the 1960's founded by Baba Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Maya Angelou, and our many other ancestors in the struggle for liberation. We honor all of our elders and our youth, together taking it to a new level with our principles. We are matriarchal, mother earth centered, and maroon nationality and identity. If you are serious about being a revolutionary... Read up. Be at the next Third Black Sunday. And let's build. - See more at www.anewblackartsmovement.com

Saturday, August 20th, 2016

National Action Against Police Brutality and Murder is proud to present VOICES FOR JUSTICE IN HIP HOP. This fundraising event will feature artists using spoken word, hip/hop, song and rap to convey the issues regarding police brutality and murder as well as "Life" and what it means to live underneath the racism, occupation of police, and poverty, and the results of that poverty. Some of those performing are activists themselves "out on the front lines" fighting the injustice of police murders. This showcase features artists who have used their voices to represent the people who are often ignored and unheard. National Action Against Police Brutality is proud to showcase these artists, for we also seek to speak for those whose voices have gone "unheard".

*National Action Against Police Brutality and Murder (NAAPB) is a grass roots organization created in responses to the epidemic of police brutality and Murder across the nation. Danette L Chavis, the mother of Gregory L Chavis (YB) is its founder.~Gregory L Chavis or YB as he was called, lost his life at the hands of NYPD in October 2004 after they failed to get him the medical attention that was needed after having been shot by a stray bullet intended for someone else. He was directly across the street from the hospital when police pulled up and threatened to shoot those who were carrying him to the hospital, if they didn't put him down. As a result he died from those injuries on the curb across the street from the hospital. Although the medical examiners report said he had "every probability of survival" a federal court judge ruled that actions of police did not "shock the conscience" and the case was ruled in favor of police.

Nevertheless the fight for "nation wide action" continues, determined that all should be held accountable for the murders of unarmed innocents. A petition currently in progress is being used to galvanize "a nation wide movement" that no longer excepts the justifications being given for murders of police. This fundraising effort not only let's the voices of the afflicted be heard but aids in the furtherance of the demand nation wide. All are encourage to support these efforts and indeed sign the petition.

“Fred Ho’s style is a genre unto itself, a pioneering fusion of free-jazz and traditional Chinese music that manages to combine truculence and delicacy with such natural ease that it sounds positively organic.”—DownBeatFred Ho—called the “greatest baritone saxophonist of all time” by The New Yorker—would be celebrating his 59th birthday this August. Despite a life cut short by a relentless cancer, Ho's output remains massive, with over 15 albums as a bandleader, several full length Manga Operas which fused jazz and marital arts choreography, and a distinctive Afro Asian style he can call his own. By combining revolutionary politics with African and Asian musical traditions, Ho pioneered a vibrant new form of jazz deployed in service of eco-socialist ideals. Comprising leading jazz luminaries who have performed with the likes of Duke Ellington, Ornette Coleman, and Gil Evans, graced Ho's bands and his recorded output.

The Afro Yaqui Music Collective is a 9-piece outfit which descends from Ho's Afro Asian revolutionary ensembles and musical concepts. Led by Ben Barson, Ho's Baritone protege who "he felt has the heft and sound to represent [Ho's] assertive approach (The New York Times)," the band will include alumni of Ho's groups such as trumpet maestro Mark McGowan and vocalist Youn Joun Kim with a new generation of innovators, such as violin sensation Ernesto Villalobos, Alto saxpohonist Yoko Suzuki, and Metropolitan Opera Soprano Gizelxanath Rodriguez. Theatre artist Marina Calender and freedom singer spiritchild will also be joining the ensemble.

Ginny's Supper Club was a special location for Mr. Ho. Despite refusing to perform in clubs or bars since the late 1980s, Ho felt Ginny's was an exceptional venue, and organized a special series of concerts towards the end of his life. He unofficially inaugurated the downstairs Supper Club with his tribute to Black Power activist and under-recognized composer Cal Massey's Black Liberation Movement Suite, which jazz critic Will Friedwald in his review of Ho's interpretation in the Wall Street Journal, wrote "was well worth the 40 year wait that it took to be heard." Massey, who performed at the original Red Rooster with Charlie Parker, would have understood Ho as a fellow visionary iconoclast.

Thursday, August 11th, 2016

This year, the Hip Hop Ed Conference will take place in Staten Island NY. This will be an event to educate the emerging artist on how to evolve, grow and perform at a high level– from touring, to turning your craft into a business to managing your career and having a family.

So far, Hip Hop Retreat week will be part of every borough in New York City. It was only right for them to team up with lifestyle brand Stereotype Co to be the plug in Staten Island.

Join us for a day of killer educational panels, presentations, DJ & Producer Demos, cyphers, hip hop trivia for prizes and networking with peers and industry leaders who are shaking up the game. We’ve carefully crafted an incredible lineup of presenters who are prepared to arm you with new strategies, insights and know-how to take your career in the hip hop game to the next level.

A tribute to anti-violence movements and fathers involved in community improvement!(the last two years we witnessed transformative soul sharing events that we've come to make annual. As our sister chapter in Belgium works their soul session for later this June, come join us for the one in New York)

Price: $10 donation, no one turned awayyouth are always freethere will be food and refreshments available for purchase

Contact: rosaleen@urbanartbeat.comspiritchild@xspiritmental.com

A New Black Arts Movement is painting a new aesthetic, one in which we liberate ourselves from our oppressors. A New Black Arts Movement supports all indigenous struggles for self-defense and self-determination. A New Black Arts Movement acknowledges that all love is revolutionary, and we prefigure a new society in which all love is celebrated and accepted. We imagine a world in which heteronormative, monogamous love and the nuclear family model are not the social norm, and we celebrate freedom, love, equality, and justice.

A New Black Arts Movement acknowledges that in order for liberation, true and revolutionary education must be celebrated and accepted. We imagine a world where all children are afforded the quality education of the wealthy, where culture is at the forefront of lessons, and where children have the freedom to explore their skills and talents beyond teacher expectations. We prefigure a world where educational institutions are community spaces and where children are given the tools to change the society in which they live.

Our monthly Soul Sessions are community spaces where we connect, express, build and create. It is a prefigurative space where we cook wholesome foods, share our art, and encourage participation in art and a genderqueer clothing swap. This is a movement building off the original Black Arts Movement of the 1960's founded by Baba Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Maya Angelou, and our many other ancestors in the struggle for liberation. We honor all of our elders and our youth, together taking it to a new level with our principles. We are matriarchal, mother earth centered, and maroon nationality and identity. If you are serious about being a revolutionary... Read up. Be at the next Soul Sessions. And let's build. - See more at www.anewblackartsmovement.com

Currently on the black gold blue gold tour returning from East Africa and Europe presenting performances, workshops and djing for intergenerational audiences of all walks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qqns0MFCIO0A freedom singer from the South Bronx by way of Brooklyn, spiritchild uses the arts to cultivate a cultural revolution throughout the world, from the United States to Europe, from Africa to South East Asia. This artist’s eclectic and experimental fusion of true school Hip Hop, funk, electronica and jazz continues to break the boundaries of the music scene. As spiritchild channels the frequencies of J Dilla having tea with Sun Ra, painting the silhouettes of Nina Simone remixing El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz also known as Malcolm X, no one shares the time and the space without being moved in body, mind, heart and soul. spiritchild integrates revolution and Hip Hop music throughout all his endeavors, as a musician, DJ/ soul selector, producer, facilitator and mentor for youth, organizer and founder of the International Movement In Motion Artist & Activist Collective, cofounder along with Fred Ho of a new black arts movement and Vice President of the Universal Zulu Nation's Brooklyn Territory (UZN Chapter 9 -Noble 9 Zuluz).

Both as a solo artist, since 1992 and as the rhythmic poet of the Hip Hop fusion band Mental Notes , since 1999, spiritchild uses music to open conversations with the audience about the injustices facing the poor and oppressed and to inspire action on environmental and social justice in New York City and around the world. Next to releasing several solo albums and band recordings, spiritchild has been privileged to work with an array of artists from revolutionary spoken word activists The Last Poets, Amiri Baraka, grammy award winning nominee Maya Azucena, the legendary Les Nubians, Gill Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson’s Midnight Band, The Coup, Dead Prez to Brooklyn's Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra.

Staying in tune with and contributing to the pulse of young people’s musical and social heartbeat is at the core of this artist’s life work. spiritchild has extensive experience developing and leading workshops and programs on Critical Revolutionary Hip Hop pedagogy, songwriting and artist development. spiritchild has worked with homeless youth, youth offenders and young emerging artists as program director of One Mic and EAR (Emerging Artists in Residency) for Art Start and as a mentor, teaching artist and consultant for Urban Art Beat. Both are New York based nonprofit organizations that use the power of creative arts and music to transform youth. spiritchild continues to engage, inspire and uplift youth in community centers, juvenile detention facilities, high schools, colleges and universities throughout the world.

Thursday, June 9th, 2016

It's time for another youth open mic! All youth are welcome! Our Urban Art Beat mentors have been discussing the role of race and identity in the world of hiphop and hiphop teaching artistry and we're bringing this theme to Dixon Place! Who is hip hop? Who performs, enjoys, makes up the world of hiphop. We know it's origins, but where is it today? No one better than our youth and future to answer this question!

Come, bring friends, bring youth, bring yourself. Read a poem, something you're working on, freestyle over our beats, or bring a finished song! For the youth, by the youth! We are hiphop!

Sunday, May 15th, 2016

724 Empire Blvd Brooklyn, New York 11213 United States 9173730461 [map]

Price: $10-$20 donation

a new black arts movement presents: soul session finale at casa de sou(e)l724 empire blvdbrooklyn new york$10-$20 donation (includes Keg cup and door prize, leave with a piece of casa de sou(el), we can't take it all with us and you've helped to create it)

2pm chill, 4pm soul share, 6pm till hang

come join us as we celebrate the end of our journey at casa de sou(e)l and the beginning of the next revolutionary base unknown.bring your memories of soul sessions past and visions of soul sessions to come.bring food, drinks, youth, elders, your art your soul to share.enjoy a relaxed bbq style family get up to get down.we will be auctioning some art works and sharing stories. we would love to hear yours about the space.

we are not sure where we are going, we do know that with a community such as ours, we will never be homeless as we have found home in all of you.

It's time for another youth open mic! All youth are welcome! Our Urban Art Beat mentors have been discussing the role of race and identity in the world of hiphop and hiphop teaching artistry and we're bringing this theme to Dixon Place! Who is hip hop? Who performs, enjoys, makes up the world of hiphop. We know it's origins, but where is it today? No one better than our youth and future to answer this question!

Come, bring friends, bring youth, bring yourself. Read a poem, something you're working on, freestyle over our beats, or bring a finished song! For the youth, by the youth! We are hiphop!

the northern hemisphere that houses this side of america is not a land that was discovered according to colonial narratives. It was vibrating a rich culture of art, language, and medicinal healing- that culminated in revolutionary battles. Now relegated to reservations, this rich history is diminishing in its retention of these vibrations. It is evident because the lands of the native population are systematically ignored and excluded from the narrative,making way for further environmental destruction.

to be aware of where we come from and on which land we standis to be responsible and ^identify with our identity^, and to trace who is accountable for all of its historyretained - for us to understand.as we continue to make revolutionary contributions to the developing history of our pre-figured society, We, a new black arts movement invite you to reflect as well..

*************Join us for an interactive CommUniverstiy experience with an opportunity to learn more about the ancestral heritage of the lands and nature we currently walk among.

-Multimedia education session - with activity, discussion, performance, and screening from a short documentary series:

Rebel Music | Native America: 7th Generation Rises

From this screening, we gain insight from the lives of young Native Americans who are taking a stand against displacement, disappearances of over 1,200 women nationwide, and environmental destruction. They move internationally, connected by music,art, self-determination, and community empowerment.

A New Black Arts Movement is painting a new aesthetic, one in which we liberate ourselves from our oppressors. A new black arts movement supports all indigenous struggles for self-defense and self-determination. We acknowledge that in order for liberation, the revolutionary matriarchal values of indigeneity, creativity, compassion and collectivity must be recognized and form the fundamentals of our new society. We imagine a world where decisions are based on intuition, spirituality, continuous learning and improvisation as well as science, which lead the way to wisdom, community and the art of listening and receiving as ways to overcome brute force.

language: mix of French, Dutch and English, adapted to the needs of the participants.

€ 10 donation, youth free, no one will be turned away.

A new black arts movement is painting a new aesthetic, one in which we liberate ourselves from our oppressors. A new black arts movement supports all indigenous struggles for self-defense and self-determination.

Our soul sessions are community spaces where we connect, express, build and create this vision toward prefiguring a new society.

This soul session brings together collective voices of struggle to outline our various strategies and plans of action towards making another possible to actually happening. Join us in dialogue, debate and the deconstruction of the now to a new. Lend us your thoughts and allow us to borrow your imagination to move us as a community forward.

Are you interested in education that focuses on change? Are you interested in disrupting the school to prison pipeline? Come listen to youth who are living it and organizations who are doing something about it! At this CommUniversity youth will speak on their experiences in revolutionary education settings. There will also be a panel discussion on developing youth leadership to combat the school to prison pipeline and other challenges facing young people.

Panelists Include: Rukia Lumumba: former director of youth programming for the Center for Community Alternatives and now for CASES. Her work and experience with MXGM, restorative justice models, youth in alternative to incarceration programs all add to her expertise.

Cory Greene: Cory is one of the Co-Founders of How Our Lives Link Altogether! (H.O.L.L.A!) Born and raised in Corona, Queens, Cory is an formerly incarcerated community organizer. His experiences as a youth growing up in urban America have contributed to his understanding of the systemic inequalities that exist in under-served communities. As a result, he has committed himself to a wide range of community organizing efforts with youth, educational projects and activism that seek to change existing conditions for urban youth of color. http://holla-inc.com/

Stephanie Damon-Moore is a second-year law student at NYU Law focusing in public interest law. At NYU she co-chairs the Prisoner Rights & Education Project and works with the Federal Defenders. She has researched mass incarceration and prosecutorial misconduct, and has also worked with the National Lawyer’s Guild’s Parole Preparation Project helping people prepare for their parole board hearings. She blogs about criminal justice and prison issues at AbolishPrisons.org.

Kimberly Adams: Radical Educator and High School English Teacher, she specializes in journalism as well as college and career readiness and has taught in L.A. and N.Y. She incorporates social justice and project based learning continuously in her pedagogy. Kim will offer insight on fighting the system from within.

Youth representatives will also join the discussion, speaking on their experience behind bars to alternative youth programs and free schools.

There will be a children's corner...musical instruments, blocks, coloring, and more.

A new black arts movement is painting a new aesthetic, one in which we liberate ourselves from our oppressors and prefigure a new society.

Our soul sessions are community spaces where we connect, express, build and create this vision toward prefiguring a new society. During this 'soul session' we will honor the legacy of Black August freedom fighters and political prisoners and focus on the power of art being equivalent to politics by exploring the role of critical revolutionary Hip Hop pedagogy.

Featuring:- open mic- legacy of Black August freedom fighters and political prisoners- report back on ‘roots rhythm revolution Europe 2015 spring tour’ by spiritchild- launch of the international inter generational hip hop project - The c.i.p.h.e.r (community international progressing hip hop evolutions and revolutions)- examples and inspiration from the community in New York- youth performances

A freedom singer from the South Bronx by way of Brooklyn, spiritchild uses the arts to cultivate a cultural revolution throughout the world, from the United States to Europe, from Africa to South East Asia. This artist’s eclectic and experimental fusion of true school Hip Hop, funk, electronica and jazz CONTINUES to break the boundaries of the music scene. As spiritchild channels the frequencies of J Dilla having tea with Sun Ra, painting the silhouettes of Nina Simone remixing El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz also known as Malcolm X, no one shares the time and the space without being moved in body, mind, heart and soul. spiritchild integrates revolution and Hip Hop music throughout all his endeavors, as a musician, DJ/ soul selector, producer, facilitator and mentor for youth, organizer and founder of the International Movement In Motion Artist & Activist Collective, cofounder along with Fred Ho of a new black arts movement and Vice President of the Universal Zulu Nation's Brooklyn Territory (UZN Chapter 9 -Noble 9 Zuluz).

Both as a solo artist, since 1992 and as the rhythmic poet of the Hip Hop fusion band Mental Notes , since 1999, spiritchild uses music TO OPEN conversations with the audience about the injustices facing the poor and oppressed and to inspire action on environmental and social justice in New York City and around the world. Next to releasing several solo albums and band recordings, spiritchild has been privileged to work with an array of artists from revolutionary spoken word activists The Last Poets, Amiri Baraka, grammy award winning nominee Maya Azucena, the legendary Les Nubians, Gill Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson’s Midnight Band, The Coup, Dead Prez to Brooklyn's Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra.

Staying in tune with and contributing to the pulse of young people’s musical and social heartbeat is at the core of this artist’s life work. spiritchild has extensive experience developing and leading workshops and programs on Critical Revolutionary Hip Hop pedagogy, songwriting and artist development. spiritchild has worked with homeless youth, youth offenders and young emerging artists as program director of One Mic and EAR (Emerging Artists in Residency) for Art Start and as a mentor, teaching artist and consultant for Urban Art Beat. Both are New York based nonprofit organizations that use the power of creative arts and music to transform youth. spiritchild continues to engage, inspire and uplift youth in community centers, juvenile detention facilities, high schools, COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES throughout the world.- See more at: http://www.bluenote.net/newyork/schedule/moreinfo.cgi?id=13037#sthash.wEdjWT4E.dpuf

Sunday, July 26th, 2015

casa del soul

Resistance in Brooklyn’s Annual Anti-July 4th BBQ - 4pm-8pm

724 Empire Blvd Brooklyn, New York 11213 United States 9173730461 [map]

RnB has been holding anti-July 4th BBQs to raise funds for various people and causes, for over 20 years. Here's what we have to say in 2015: The “USA” Empire is in a state of dire distress. At a time of escalating racist violence (by both cops and right-wing terrorists), and increasing economic crisis, we need to not celebrate white supremacist settler colonialism, but rather the struggles of people of African descent, Native peoples, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, and others -- upon whom US citizenship of a second-class nature was bestowed often against the will of the those involved. The fact that “Black lives” have mainly “mattered” as a source of cheap/free labor and cannon fodder, as Frederick Douglass poignantly pointed out in his iconic “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?,” is indeed nothing to celebrate.

Resistance to imperialism and the building of liberation movements is what we must celebrate, and we can think of no better symbol of such resistance this past year than the steadfast and strong Sekou Odinga. After an outrageous 34 years in prison, subjected to torturous conditions and a disproportional sentence based purely on his political work as a Black Panther and liberation activist, Sekou came back to this side of the wall with a bright smile and continued devotion to the people. His example of lifelong commitment and continuity must be an inspiration for all to follow and support, so we are deeply honored to spotlight and celebrate Sekou Odinga & the Sekou Odinga Defense Committee. It is no coincidence that the SODC, a vibrant group in itself, has been led by the also-amazing dequi kioni-sadiki (Sekou’s beloved as well as chair of the Malcolm X Commemoration Committee), who we also join in honoring. Mark your Calendars: HELP SPREAD THE WORD!

Thursday, July 23rd, 2015

La Marqueta

Barrio Poetix - 9pm

El Barrio east 115th street and park avenue New York, NY United States [map]

During our interactive and artistic exploration we will study and honor revolutionary matriarchs and reveal the critical role of Revolutionary Matriarchy in the black liberation struggle.

724 Empire BlvdBrooklyn NY 112133pm gather and potluck4pm sharp start

$5 exchange If you do not have $5 to exchange then bring something of equal value; food (please no "junk" food), fruits, vegetables, toilet paper, no paper towels, etc, be creative. its not about the money its about exchange so all welcomed and all encouraged. this is our commUniversity, not an event so commune, convene, conspire

Saturday, July 11th, 2015

X-Vandals is having a record release party for their seditionary sophomore full length record, and YOU are invited!!!!

"X-Vandals passion and commitment to the cause and the culture, and their ideologically intense by FlashMall" href="#27173728"> level of knowledge, energy, skill and realism set a new and staunch standard for Hip Hop and its righteous quest black to the future. X-Vandals are the truth. I hope you can handle it?" - Chuck D of Public Enemy

Saturday, June 27th, 2015

Thank you in advance for participating in The 2nd Annual P.E.A.C.E thru Performance Festival Sat June 27th 2015. The community is just as excited as we are to have you come share your talents, skills and resources ..

Friday, June 26th, 2015

WHAT: Come celebrate Ernesto Villalobos and Ben Barson's birthdays at the 52 Marble Hill Boat with the third Revolutionary Summer House Party, concert and fundraiser for Kol-lek-tive Snajtaleltik (an awesome tongue-twister and also an incredible indigenous community in Chiapas)

WHEN: This Friday, June 26th from 7 PM to 7AM. Please note the change in date because of rain!

TICKETS: $15 at the door

special guest feature performance by spiritchild______________________________________________

Join us this Friday! The 52 Marble Hill Summer House Parties are in full swing and this weekend we expect a full house. Our birthday party/concert/discussion will highlight and celebrate the work of indigenous Mexicans fighting for self-definition & self-determination. Musicians Gizel Xanath, Ernesto Villalobos and Ben Barson have just returned from Mexico, and they will report back on the struggles of Indigenous Mexicans in Veracruz, Sonora and Chiapas for autonomy, cultural memory, and the rights of the Earth. Professor and lifelong activist Margaret Cerullo will discuss the 20 year legacy of Zapatismo, and the movements since influenced through the Global South. Ernesto Villalobos, violin virtuoso and cultural organizer, will be celebrating a belated birthday, and perform along with some of the best musicians from the New York area.

The party will be a fundraiser for Kol-lek-tive Snaktaeltik, a revolutionary group of Tzeltal-Tzotzil speakers based in San Cristobal, Chipas, who use the Mayan concept of Sk'oponel Snopel ta Stalel Ilumaltik (Communication and Popular Education) to create seed libraries, artisanal exchange, self-sufficiency, and other non-capitalist forms of knowledge sharing and continuation.

About the 52 Marble Hill Summer House Parties:

In the summer of 2011 we (the Villalobos Brothers) opened our backyard and started hosting an informal concert series. Little did we know that these small gatherings would soon become monster parties of mythical proportions!

By the end of 2012 hundreds of guests would make the trip uptown, coming in from An Beal Bocht, Manhattan College, the Shul of New York, Columbia University, the Mariachi Academy and the United Nations. By the end of that summer the 52 Marble Hill Summer House Parties had become a weekend destination... a most delicious urban escape, a legendary summer party with all the live music... and none of the drama.

Over the years we have been fortunate to have great musicians grace our stage: from the classical Indian trio Karavika, to the reggae band Rocky and the Pressers and from Bernardo Palombo to Mariachi Real de Mexico, Outernational, Jarana Beat and Los Cojolites.

About Ecosocialist Horizons:

Ecosocialism is a vision of a transformed society in harmony with nature, and the development of practices that can attain it. It is directed toward alternatives to all socially and ecologically destructive systems, such as patriarchy, racism, homophobia and the fossil-fuel based economy. It is based on a perspective that regards other species and natural ecosystems as valuable in themselves and as partners in a common destiny.

About Snajtaleltik:

Kol-lek-tive Snajtaleltik is a point of departure, but also a space where we arrive, we meet, we talk and we build community. From the Tzeltal-Tzotzil Maya thought, Snajtaleltik is the home of our physical and spiritual being, and it includes and is a consequence of our actions. A House where we share, grow, sow, work, speak our word; a place to laugh, to play, to sing, to heal our hearts, to listen to our ancient spirits; a way to recognize who we are and what we can become, to value and recognize our greatness, and to find and reconnect with our philosophy and other philosophies of life, to cultivate eco-friendly spirituality, and respect for all human beings. Our mission is to sow the thoughts that value and recognize the greatness of life.

With pleasure I invite you to our soul session on Sunday 21st of June: ‘A new black arts movement presents revolutionary matriarchy: how to create a nurturing society?’

15:30 – Welcome, start at 16:00 until 18:00

Le Space, Rue de la Clé 26 – Brussels

Language: mix of French, Dutch and English, adapted to the needs of the participants.

€ 10 donation, youth free, no one will be turned away.

A new black arts movement is painting a new aesthetic, one in which we liberate ourselves from our oppressors. A new black arts movement supports all indigenous struggles for self-defense and self-determination. We acknowledge that in order for liberation, the matriarchal values of caring, nurturing, creativity, compassion and collectivity must be recognized and form the fundaments of our new society. We imagine a world where decisions are based on intuition, spirituality, continuous learning and improvisation as well as science, which lead the way to wisdom, community and the art of listening and receiving as ways to overcome brute force.

Our soul sessions are community spaces where we connect, express, build and create this vision toward prefiguring a new society. During this 'soul session' we will explore how we can move towards a revolutionary matriarchal society and by FlashMall" href="#16067617"> live it in our daily lives, from testimonies of wisdom to practices of nurturing. Through the inspiration of role models like Assata Shakur, Nikki Giovanni, Maya Angelou, Fred Ho, Russell Maroon Shoatz to people, initiatives and movements who are doing revolutionary matriarchal work in Belgium. We will be nurtured literally and figuratively, physically, mentally and spiritually.

A tribute to anti-violence movements and fathers involved in community improvement!(last year we witnessed a transformative soul sharing event. as our sister chapter in Belgium works there soul by FlashMall" href="#56058010"> session, come join us for the one in New York)

A New Black Arts Movement is painting a new aesthetic, one in which we liberate ourselves from our oppressors. A New Black Arts Movement supports all indigenous struggles for self-defense and self-determination. A New Black Arts Movement acknowledges that all love is revolutionary, and we prefigure a new society in which all love is celebrated and accepted. We imagine a world in which heteronormative, monogamous love and the nuclear family model are not the social norm, and we celebrate freedom, love, equality, and justice.

A New Black Arts Movement acknowledges that in order for liberation, true and revolutionary education must be celebrated and accepted. We imagine a world where all children are afforded the quality education of the wealthy, where culture is at the forefront of lessons, and where children have the freedom to explore their skills and talents beyond teacher expectations. We prefigure a world where educational institutions are community spaces and where children are given the tools to change the society in which they live.

Our monthly Soul Sessions are community spaces where we by FlashMall" href="#20925389"> connect, express, build and create. It is a prefigurative space where we cook wholesome foods, share our art, and encourage participation in art and a genderqueer clothing swap. This is a movement building off the original Black Arts Movement of the 1960's founded by Baba Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Maya Angelou, and our many other ancestors in the struggle for liberation. We honor all of our elders and our youth, together taking it to a new level with our principles. We are matriarchal, mother earth centered, and maroon nationality and identity. If you are serious about being a revolutionary... Read up. Be at the next Soul Sessions. And let's build. - See more at: http://xspiritmental.com/a_new_black_arts_movement/#sthash.67MOQKHi.dpuf

With pleasure we invite you for A new black arts movement: a community meeting/conversation with spiritchild.

Place: Le Space, Rue de la Clé 26, Brussels.

Time: Saturday 9th of May from 19h00 until 21h30.

Note: We will gather at 19h00 and we will start on time at 19h30.

Since spiritchild set foot in Belgium again on Friday 24th of April, he has been building with communities during our soul session in Brussels, workshops for youth in Kortrijk and Genk and a master class on critical revolutionary Hip Hop pedagogy in Gent this past weekend (in collaboration with Labo & 'Uit de Marge'. This next Saturday is the chance for all us to continue the conversation or meet and build for the first time to see how our worlds can connect and become less apart through solidarity and concrete next steps.

Spiritchild is currently on his ‘roots rhythm revolution tour’ throughout Europe. A freedom singer from the South Bronx by way of Brooklyn, spiritchild uses the arts to cultivate a cultural revolution throughout the world, from the United States to Europe, from Africa to South East Asia.

Spiritchild integrates revolution and Hip Hop music throughout all his endeavors, as a musician, DJ/ soul selector, producer, facilitator and mentor for youth, organizer and founder of the International Movement In Motion Artist & Activist Collective, co-founder of ‘a new black arts movement’ and Vice President of the Universal Zulu Nation's Brooklyn Territory (UZN Chapter 9 -Noble 9 Zuluz).

Please feel free to share this invitation with friends and family, this is a community event, the more the merrier.

Donations are welcomed as they assist with the sustainability of our tour however no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

A freedom singer & dj from the South Bronx by way of Brooklyn, spiritchild uses the arts to cultivate a cultural revolution. Spiritchild deejays/soul selects emotions. spiritchild channels the mood, taps into the collective consciousness and evokes the feelings you desire. By redefining genres and expectations of what you are conditioned to hear, turning you on to new artists, new sounds and new waves. spiritchild introduces and remixes vibrations that resonate with the soul.

From Funk, Hip Hop to the rhythms of South Africa, from Reggae to Eastern European Balkan sounds, from Afro Beat to ambient Lounge Music. spiritchild takes you on a musical world trip that stimulates you and everyone in the space to let go of inhibitions, dance like no one is watching and express yourself in complete freedom.

On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, we kick off our musical week at Bonnefooi with top-quality live music. Whether it’s groovy jazz, smooth soul or sparkling funk, MidWeek Live should be your number 1 on your list to discover new live acts. Our unique atmosphere, groovy vibes and simply superb soundsystem (Void) will surely form the perfect setting for your Tuesday and/or Wednesday night search for live music.

Thursday, April 30th, 2015

Soul circle: prefiguring a new society - revolutionary matriarchy

Description of the event: A time to share what prefiguring a new society looks like and how we can lead by example. A circle of exchange, of connection, of sharing through stories, music and meditation.focus on revolutionary matriarchy.

Wednesday, April 29th, 2015

The roots, rhythm and revolution of Hip Hop

Goal of the workshop: Participants learn the roots of Hip Hop and how they can create chances and perspectives for their future. Combination of Hip Hop herstory/history, songwriting and how to become an independent artist and sustain yourself. Target group: workshop booked through PAJ (platform for immigrant youth) an umbrella organization for a number of ethnic minority youth associations. The ideological or cultural background of the rank of PAJ is wide; PAJ reached Alevi, Sunni Muslims, Sufis, Protestants, Roman Catholics, Greek and Russian Orthodoksen, etc.

Sunday, April 26th, 2015

A new black arts movement presents: Hip Hop pedagogy: from roots through rhythm to revolution

Our soul sessions are community spaces where we connect, express, build and create. During this soul session we will explore the power of Revolutionary Hip Hop pedagogy. It meets the youth where they are, starting from their experiences, goals and talents. It creates youth leaders who are accountable and have an impact in their communities and society as a whole.

Through an exhilarating panel conversation we will explore the differences with the current educational system, the necessity and purpose of revolutionary Hip Hop pedagogy and share real life examples & results with the following speakers:

spiritchild deejays/soul selects emotions. djsss (spiritchild) channels the mood, taps into the collective consciousness and evokes the feelings you desire. by redefining genres and expectations of what you are conditioned to hear, turning you on to new artists, new sounds and new waves. djsss introduces and remixes vibrations that resonate with the soul. from Funk, Hip Hop to the rhythms of South Africa, from Reggae to Eastern European Balkan sounds, from Afro Beat to ambient Lounge Music. let's flow on a musical world trip that stimulates you and everyone in the space to let go of inhibitions, dance like no one is watching and express yourself in complete freedom

film screening of Mama C: Urban Warrior in the African Bush The film explores Mama C’s decade’s long project of coming to terms with who she is—an African American raised in Kansas City, KS, the “jazz-capital of the world,” who has lived most of her life in Africa, the place from where her ancestors were forced to make the “middle-passage.” When she first arrived in Tanzania she tried as hard as she could to “fit in,” wearing khangas, carrying my babies on my back, basket on my head, chewing sugar cane sticks.” As she writes in one of her published poems, “In my freshly-landed, just-got-off-the-boat enthusiasm of living in Africa, I tried to blend, to melt, homogenize, disappear, erase, the essence of what made me who I am, an African, who grew up in and was molded by the ‘hoods’ of America, and I almost lost myself, self.”http://www.mamacurbanwarriorfilm.com/

Thursday, March 19th, 2015

Join us for a night of powerful performances, screenings and an open mic! The Justice for Kenny Coalition is raising funds to provide free bus transportation for NYCers to participate in the annual Long Island vigil commemorating police brutality victim Kenny Lazo and all Long Island Stolen Lives. Suggested donation: $10 at the door (no one will be turned away for lack of funds.)

spiritchild deejays/soul selects emotions. djsss (spiritchild) channels the mood, taps into the collective consciousness and evokes the feelings you desire. by redefining genres and expectations of what you are conditioned to hear, turning you on to new artists, new sounds and new waves. djsss introduces and remixes vibrations that resonate with the soul. from Funk, Hip Hop to the rhythms of South Africa, from Reggae to Eastern European Balkan sounds, from Afro Beat to ambient Lounge Music. let's flow on a musical world trip that stimulates you and everyone in the space to let go of inhibitions, dance like no one is watching and express yourself in complete freedom.

Sunday, March 15th, 2015

Join us for a birthday celebration Bushwick Book Club style! Your favorite local and touring musicians, songwriters and artists present new music and performance inspired by the work of Bob Holman — poet, spoken word artist, endangered language activist, founder of The Bowery Poetry Club and creator of new PBS series, “Language Matters.” We are celebrating this celebrator of creativity with creativity inspired by his creativity!

Sunday, March 15th, 2015

a new black arts movement presents commUniversity.film screening, discussion and communal learning experience by various revolutionary artist, educators, scientist and the likes...

honoring the month of revolutionary matriarchy and making the connections with the black liberation struggle and the struggle of the irish liberation movements.

rsvp movement@xspiritmental.com

724 Empire BlvdBrooklyn NY 112133pm gather 4pm sharp start$5 exchange (if you do not have $5 to exchange then bring something of equal value; food (please no "junk" food), fruits, vegetables, toilet paper, no paper towels, etc, be creative. its not about the money its about exchange so all welcome and all encouraged. this is our commUniversity, not an event so commune, convene, conspire)youth pay with time and attention

let us know you want to continue thisMarch 15th commUniversityfilm screening TBA (hopefully the Black and the Green - a film about the black liberation and irish liberation movement, its a hard one to get so we are working on it) followed by discussion/strategy session on the connections with the BLA and the IRA and solidarity connections in between from Fredrick Douglass to Marcus Garvey to Bernadette Devlin.

Wednesday, March 11th, 2015

Come hear what it sounds like when jazz, hip-hop, and classical musicians come together. 15 musicians will be featured at our concert celebrating our recently released album.

New collaborations with spiritchild, a world premiere by jazz guitarist/composer Jack Gulielmetti, as well as works by Will Healy, Nick Omiccioli, Jesse Greenberg and Nico Muhly. Conducted by composer/conductor Alex Burtzos!

March 11th, 2015, 7:30pm: ShoutHouse Album Release Show at the DiMenna Center

– ShoutHouse celebrates our new album with a show at the DiMenna Center, featuring two world premieres, one by me and the other commissioned from composer Jack Gulielmetti. We will also perform Nicholas Omiccioli’s push/pull, Nico Muhly’s Doublespeak, and works from the album. Alex Burtzos will conduct, and soloists include spiritchild, Jai Issa, a.Piff, Julia Anrather, Connell Thompson, and Julian Soto.

spiritchild deejays/soul selects emotions. djsss (spiritchild) channels the mood, taps into the collective consciousness and evokes the feelings you desire. by redefining genres and expectations of what you are conditioned to hear, turning you on to new artists, new sounds and new waves. djsss introduces and remixes vibrations that resonate with the soul. from Funk, Hip Hop to the rhythms of South Africa, from Reggae to Eastern European Balkan sounds, from Afro Beat to ambient Lounge Music. let's flow on a musical world trip that stimulates you and everyone in the space to let go of inhibitions, dance like no one is watching and express yourself in complete freedom.

Sunday, February 15th, 2015

ibeam

a new black arts movement presents: For the Love of Revolution: a soul-liberating dance party - 4p

Join the Eco-Music Big Band for a revolutionary dance party! FOR THE LOVE OF REVOLUTION is a celebration of revolutionary music and struggle that includes queer liberation, third world struggle, womyn's liberation, the struggle for ecologically sound living, and the liberation of black and brown peoples. Featuring a hip hop reimagining of Cal Massey's magnum opus Black Liberation Movement Suite, poetry by R. Erica Doyle, a reading by Marina Celander, and modern big band works by Jay Rodriguez, Albert Marques, Marie Incontrera, and others. This event is the first of its kind in the 21st century: taking the concept of the dance big band of the 1940s and bringing it into the present with new works, revolutionary hip hop (featuring spiritchild, Prince Akeem, and other young artists), liberation of the body, and exciting tributes to the great historical figures of the black liberation movement, including Aishah Rahman.

The Eco-Music Big Band is a 15-piece professional big band that spans many generations and includes some of the nation’s most acclaimed jazz musicians. Our roster includes bass trombonist David Taylor (Gil Evans, New York Philharmonic), saxophonist Jay Rodriguez (Ornette Coleman, Craig Harris), bass trombonist Earl McIntyre (Mel Lewis, Thad Jones), Zack O'Farrill and Adam O'Farrill (Arturo O'Farrill, Randy Weston). The Eco-Music Big Band is led by Marie Incontrera, who was Fred Ho's final composition protege.

Hailed as “talented... inspiring” (The Vermont Standard), The Eco-Music Big Band is committed to presenting the music of the legendary jazz composers of the 20th century that were overlooked (such as Cal Massey), to continuing the legacy its prodigious composer & founder (the late Fred Ho), and to providing a platform for the next generation of big band composers.

Tuesday, February 10th, 2015

This month is crazy amazing for myself and the Nebraska Jones Experiment. Come out and celebrate with me and the collective as we prep for an amazing February full of love, music, and new collaborations!!! I'm happy to welcome back none other than DJ SSS Spiritchild on decks as our featured DJ this month! Urban Art Beat will be in the house so be sure to come connect with allies new and old! As always the house band will be holding it down! I'm thrilled to share with you, the talents of Zach MullingsAntoine KatzMatthias Löscher and Julian Pollack!!! Singers, emcees, poets, dancers, instrumentalists…. bring your weapons and come ready to vibe!! The love is always strong and the bandstand is ready for your gifts!

***We Welcome Vanessa Tricoche (a community healing circle facilitator and ritualist, artist and facilitator in social and emotional learning, conflict resolution, intergroup relations, diversity and crisis intervention) to conduct an Opening Ceremony to cleanse the space and set intention for the evening at the top of the evening****

FEATURING:-Specially priced Caribbean Rum Punch!

-Presentation about Sa-k-la-k-wel= the Community Center in Oban, Jacmel Haiti that we are working on in co-creation with that community

-Presentation Earthship Biotecture building methods in general

- A Preview of the documentary in progress 'The Diaspora Travels' ! & explanation about the project.

Words re: The Diaspora Travels:What is it like to heal from a moment where 300,000 lose their lives? This documentary explores the resilience of Haitians after the January 12, 2010. We Investigate the barriers preventing resources from reaching those who most need them. Uncovering roles that Haitians and Diasporic Haitians play in the `Reconstruction'.

Support efforts in making the film, and support getting resources into Local Haitian Hands, and rebuilding efforts that are still happening.

Thanks so much for everyone who have touched This project, as the work continues.

The crew gives Remembrance for 01.12.10 at 16:53 local Haitian Time

~ via: Oja Soundtwista Tomorrow (Jan.12th) marks the 5th Anniversary of the earthquake that took the life of more than 300,000 Haitians and changed the course of so many others in Haiti as well as in the diaspora around the world, yours truly included. May those who survived remain blessed, strong, and healthy. Bless those who have passed as well. Although the news story has come and gone like so much else in the amnesia of the mass media system of the states, the work continues, this new revolution of true solidarity and collective solutions with Haitians in Haiti at the core continues. These collaborative efforts of recovery and healing are preparation for the future as the climate continues to change and get more belligerent in concert with so called 'free trade ' policies that overpopulate cities and privatize resources making them unreachable for most as it severely limits the options for working people (there are even less options for those who have no work and remain in destitute poverty). Much like the revolution that gave Haiti her sovereignty, the instances of people united to create strength with the intent of returning self determination to the people of Haiti and those in opposition to disruption of civil society's stability will provide solutions and support for all of the world's people who are seeking true self-determination and dignity...action speaks loudest. Much respect to all of the individuals and groups who have been and will continue to do this work, inside and outside of Haiti: to all the authors and journalists who have exposed those who have stolen and continued to make attempts defame Haiti's people and culture, the organizations who have respected the people of Haiti, not stolen, but worked with their ears and eyes opened with respect; those who have taken action and remain involved in ways that help empower us all. Silent time today for reflection and contemplation, honor and respect as we continue build this movement.

Email us at: thediasporatravelshaiti@gmail.comFollow us on Twittter: @Diaspora2Haiti

Sunday, January 25th, 2015

every 4th black sunday a new black arts movement presents commUniversity.film screening, discussion and communal learning experience by various revolutionary artist, educators, scientist and the likes...

rsvp for this first ever xspiritmental learning session.movement@xspiritmental.com

724 Empire BlvdBrooklyn NY 1121312pm sharp -3pm$5 exchange (if you do not have $5 to exchange then bring something of equal value; food (please no junk food), fruits, vegetables, toilet paper, no paper towels, etc, be creative. its not about the money its about exchange so all welcome and all encouraged. this is our commUniversity, not an event so commune, convene, conspire)youth pay with time and attentionlet us know you want this.Jan 25th commUniversityfilm screening Amandla Revolution in Four Part Harmony followed by discussion/strategy session on the connections with South African Liberation Struggles through music and how hip hop continues to be and provide that voice of struggle through movements.

spiritchild deejays/soul selects emotions. djsss (spiritchild) channels the mood, taps into the collective consciousness and evokes the feelings you desire. by redefining genres and expectations of what you are conditioned to hear, turning you on to new artists, new sounds and new waves. djsss introduces and remixes vibrations that resonate with the soul. from Funk, Hip Hop to the rhythms of South Africa, from Reggae to Eastern European Balkan sounds, from Afro Beat to ambient Lounge Music. let's flow on a musical world trip that stimulates you and everyone in the space to let go of inhibitions, dance like no one is watching and express yourself in complete freedom.

Saturday, January 3rd, 2015

2015 is YEAR OF THE QUEER! Join the Eco-Music Big Band at Joe's Pub for a New Years' celebration of the LGBTQ experience.

The first of its kind in the tri-state area, YEAR OF THE QUEER! is a night that tributes the queer jazz experience. The Eco-Music Big Band presents works by Billy Strayhorn (featuring Philadelphia singer Rhenda Fearrington); bassist, Amanda Ruzza; bandleader Marie Incontrera; a new arrangement of Fred Ho's work for the Brooklyn Womens' Anti-Rape Exchange YES MEANS YES, NO MEANS NO, WHATEVER SHE WEARS, WHEREVER SHE GOES! (featuring flutist/composer Yael Acher aka "KAT" Modiano- flutist /composer); Cal Massey's iconic liberation song THINGS HAVE GOT TO CHANGE!, featuring Spiritchild XspiritMental, and a reimagining of Frank Zappa, called MY BIG BAND WANTS TO KILL YOUR HETEROPATRIARCHY! We will also be celebrating Sun Ra with our first performance of his legendary work, VELVET. Kelly Cogswell will be reading from her new book, EATING FIRE: MY LIFE AS A LESBIAN AVENGER.

The Eco-Music Big Band is a 15-piece professional big band that spans many generations and includes some of the nation’s most acclaimed jazz musicians. Our roster includes bass trombonist David Taylor (Gil Evans, New York Philharmonic), saxophonist Jay Rodriguez (Ornette Coleman, Craig Harris), bass trombonist Earl McIntyre (Mel Lewis, Thad Jones), Zack O'Farrill and Adam O'Farrill (Arturo O'Farrill, Randy Weston). The Eco-Music Big Band is lead by Marie Incontrera, who was Fred Ho's final composition protege.

Hailed as “talented... inspiring” (The Vermont Standard), The Eco-Music Big Band is committed to presenting the music of the legendary jazz composers of the 20th century that were overlooked (such as Cal Massey), to continuing the legacy its prodigious composer & founder (the late Fred Ho), and to providing a platform for the next generation of big band composers.

spiritchild deejays/soul selects emotions. djsss (spiritchild) channels the mood, taps into the collective consciousness and evokes the feelings you desire. by redefining genres and expectations of what you are conditioned to hear, turning you on to new artists, new sounds and new waves. djsss introduces and remixes vibrations that resonate with the soul. from Funk, Hip Hop to the rhythms of South Africa, from Reggae to Eastern European Balkan sounds, from Afro Beat to ambient Lounge Music. let's flow on a musical world trip that stimulates you and everyone in the space to let go of inhibitions, dance like no one is watching and express yourself in complete freedom.

It is an honor to invite you to our very first Scientific Soul Session in Europe. A space and a time to prefigure a new society, a new way of living together embracing and celebrating our cultural backgrounds, our creativity, our connection to each other and to Mother Earth.

An afternoon to experience the liberating power of creativity over food, art and various performances and dialogues:

Featuring:

- Performance by spiritchild, Hip Hop artist & educator from New York.- Storytelling of international struggles and victories of fighting against social injustice through direct action and music.- Inspiring examples of using our mind, body and voice as a revolutionary force.

Bring your creativity, friends and family. Looking forward to welcoming you on the 16th of November.

MC Spiritchild shares experience and knowledge through interactive education! This interactive education includes a lecture and a workshop on different subjects and elements of Hip Hop Kulture. There will be a jamsession afterwards.

Lecture subjects:- what is Hip Hop and where does it come from?- the deeper meaning of Hip Hop- Hip Hop and society

Workshop:- written/spoken word- the power of words- how do i get a message across?

The lecture and workshop will be held in English.

Get your chance at first-hand knowledge!

Subscribe at info@zulunation.nlTickets are €15,- (be quick before it's full!)

Thursday, November 6th, 2014

Soul circle: prefiguring a new society

Description of the event: A time to share what prefiguring a new society looks like and how we can lead by example. A circle of exchange, of connection, of sharing through stories, music and meditation.

A freedom singer from the South Bronx by way of Brooklyn, spiritchild uses the arts to cultivate a cultural revolution throughout the world, from the United States to Europe, from Africa to South East Asia. This artist’s eclectic and experimental fusion of true school Hip Hop, funk, electronica and jazz continues to break the boundaries of the music scene. As spiritchild channels the frequencies of J Dilla having tea with Sun Ra, painting the silhouettes of Nina Simone remixing El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz also known as Malcolm X, no one shares the time and the space without being moved in body, mind, heart and soul.

Both as a solo artist, since 1992 and as the rhythmic poet of the Hip Hop fusion band Mental Notes, since 1999, spiritchild uses music to open conversations with the audience about the injustices facing the poor and oppressed and to inspire action on environmental and social justice in New York City and around the world. Next to releasing several solo albums and band recordings, spiritchild has been privileged to work with an array of artists from revolutionary spoken word activists The Last Poets, Amiri Baraka, grammy award winning nominee Maya Azucena, the legendary Les Nubians, Gill Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson’s Midnight Band, The Coup, Dead Prez to Brooklyn's Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra.

Special guest appearance on radio show Street Knowledge, hosted by the Belgian Chapter of Universal Zulu Nation

Description: Every monday night the Universal Zulu Nation Belgian Chapter hosts a radio show called 'Street Knowledge', on French speaking radio KIF. For the show on 27th of October, spiritchild will be the special host and will perform a couple of songs live.

Friday, April 18th, 2014

Party People! Spring has arrived at long last but we're already thinking about Summer at Urban Art Beat. Last year you helped UAB raise over $10,000 via Indiegogo for our annual summer camp which connected musical youth with NYC artists in order to create uplifting original music!

We're excited to be bringing the program back again and kicking off the fundraising efforts with a party for the ages! We know our people looove to dance so we'll be featuring incredible DJ's:

+ special surprise performances from some of the finest MC's and beatboxers in the city.

Dance all night and meet the artists and educators helping develop the next wave of young NYC talent.

A $10 donation at the door gets you free beer all night and a $5 donation at the door gets you a mixed drink to get the night started right + access to our cash bar. There's a smoke-friendly rooftop and all profits will go towards UAB's Summer Camp :D

519 Halsey St. apt 3L @ Stuyvesant Ave in BedStuy off the Utica AC - note the trains will be running full capacity, no one's gotta take a shuttle bus!

Thursday, April 17th, 2014

A Panther in Africa: The Legacy Continues.Benefit for UAACC’s Leaders of Tomorrow Children’s Home & Water Project in Tanzania

ON THURSDAY APRIL 17TH a concert benefit for UAACC will take place at the historic TEATRO LATEA in NYC’s Lower East Side. It will include a short screening about UAACC’s dynamic programs; a meet-and-greet discussion with Mama Charlotte O’Neal; an excerpt from the exciting new play Black Panther Women; performances by powerful Youth poets; Live acoustic concert by award-winning singer-activist Maya Azucena; and a rousing musical presentation by Mama Charlotte O’Neal herself.

100% of the proceeds of the night’s ticket sales will go directly to funding UAACC’s programs for youth and the refurbishment of the UAACC water tank.

THE REASON WHY I FIGHT FOR JUSTICE IS BECAUSE KENNY LAZO IS MY SON’S FATHER.

Dear Sisters & Brothers,My name Jennifer Gonzalez, Co-Founder of the Justice for Kenny Coalition and long-time partner of Kenny Lazo.

The obstacles family members face after a loved one is killed by police is horrifying and emotionally draining, as I experienced myself. Consequently, we must keep the fight for justice going strong and provide support to the growing number of families effected by police violence. I would like to share my story with you.

On the night of April 12, 2008, Kenny fell victim to a ruthless and malicious crime, and my life and our son’s life would be changed forever. Kenny’s life was taken by individuals who ironically swore to protect and serve: the Suffolk County Police.

Kenny was pulled over allegedly for going a mere 8 miles over the speed limit, an infraction most drivers are guilty of on a regular basis.

The remaining facts are unclear as Kenny, the only witness to the crime, was handcuffed, forced down on the ground, beaten and choked to death with flashlights. He suffered from blunt impacts to the head, face, torso, arms, with multiple abrasions, contusions and lacerations of the face and scalp. His tongue was nearly bitten off. Succumbing to the vicious attack, Kenny went into cardiac arrest. He was then brought to the 3rd Precinct and provided with NO medical attention.

As Kenny was taking his last breath lying on the precinct floor, an eyewitness heard the officers involved in the beating joking and proudly reenacting for all those in the front lobby to see how they tortured Kenny. The police then decided to wait a whole hour after Kenny was brought to the 3rd Precinct, before calling the EMT. Kenny was found by emergency assistance lying DEAD on the floor in nothing but his boxers.

Inexplicably, the autopsy report was not released for several months after Kenny’s death. The Suffolk County Coroner ruled Kenny’s death HOMICIDE as a result of his injuries, but refused to state who was culpable.

We brought two cases against the Suffolk County Police Department: each individual officer and the DA’s office. The criminal case was quickly dismissed – none of the 5 officers involved were indicted or charged, which is very typical for police brutality cases. Currently the civil case is still pending, but we have little faith that the police officers will be held accountable for the murder of our Kenny. Thus, the burden is on us to hold the murderers accountable.

The Justice for Kenny Coalition was formed in April of 2010, on the 2nd year anniversary of Kenny’s death. Our members come from a range of backgrounds and include family and friends of Kenny, community organizers, educators, and artists, nationwide and internationally. Our mission is to spread the story of Kenny Lazo and other victims, engage people to talk and think critically about Police Brutality, and empower the Long Island community and others to stand up for all of our Human & Civil Rights.

For the past six years, I have been building with many organizations including the October 22nd Coalition, the ANSWER Coalition and ACD Media. While we have received a lot of support from the city, Long Island has yet to provide us with any sustaining assistance. Recently, I was able to connect with two families in Long Island, but there are so many more of us out here who are silenced by fear. Many of us are immigrants and are afraid of speaking up or following through with charges against the police. Most cases against the police are dismissed and the victims harassed by the police afterwards. This is why I am reaching out to families that are not only in Long Island but to those all over New York State and beyond.

In the coming years, we would like to build a solid organization of families of police brutality victims along with a versatile network of community resources to provide support (including but not limited to effective and affordable lawyers, social workers, and medical providers). Of equal importance, we hope to unite all the families of police brutality victims to collectively push for change in a criminal justice system that has failed so many of us.

The most effective way for change to happen is by building together. We must create a movement that is more than just one or two families. Together, we can be the powerful catalyst this system needs to change.

The fight is hard for each and every one of us. It is emotionally draining. My heart never stops aching and seeing my son grow up is a daily reminder. At each of our son’s successes and and victorious moments, my joy is always tempered with the absence of his father. When he’s in need of discipline like any 11-year old boy, I feel overwhelmed by single-parenthood. I ask God, “Why? This was not the life we planned for him. He was not brought into this world to be fatherless…Why did this happen to us and why can’t we have justice?”

While these questions plague my thoughts too often, I know that we must continue to be strong for our loved ones and to fight for them. My son’s father and the other victims will never be replaced or brought back to us, but I know if we were together and united, we would have the potential and power to prevent more victims of police brutality.

I am personally asking you to attend our annual March on 5th Avenue @ 1630 5th Avenue, in Bay Shore, New York, for Kenny Lazo & all police brutality victims on Saturday, April 12th, 2014 from 11AM-1PM. If you have also been affected by police violence, I invite you to share your story with us during the vigil. From my experience, sharing stories empowers community, and I know yours can empower ours. Please consider my invitation, we would love your presence very much.

We will be hosting two fundraisers on March 22nd in Long Island, and March 30th, in New York City. Please stay tuned.

Saturday, April 12th, 2014

The F.I.L.M. Fund's Second Fundraiser Event of 2014. Our purpose is to be able to self-sustain an open space for artists to showcase their talent(s) and skill on the mic. This is going to be an ongoing effort through 2014 in NYC and Boston.

Our Mission:The F.I.L.M. Fund is a non-profit organization whose mission is to inspire leaders to document the current issues facing their community as a method of raising awareness. We outreach to citizens through a door-to-door canvassing operation; by gaining a personal trust of community members and inspiring them to participate in current community affairs. We visit neighborhoods per district and collect data concerning the issues that effect that particular area the most and follow up with a course of action designed by the local community members as a way to inspire self sustainability in neighborhoods. F.I.L.M. Fund also visits public schools and provides free training in either media or leadership development as a way to inform students on the truth about the school to prison pipeline. Essentially this will lead to town hall meetings, further documentation of issues through: PSA (Public Service Announcements) or short films as well as events in order to actively engage other communities to become the solution they wish to see in their district.

Tuesday, April 8th, 2014

We're back at it again for our monthly residency at Brew. Spring is in the air and I've been busy planning for summer with Urban Art Beat! Join us as we gather to network and raise awareness for music and arts education.

This month I will be featuring hip hop artist and UAB fam Baxter Words. We will showcase some of his music as well as new originals from yours truly.

Musicians and MCs are still encouraged to come and sit in, you never know who's going to show up in Bedstuy!!

DJ Spiritchild Mental Notes will be holding us down for the late night dance party. Come hang and build with our collective of amazing artists, educators, and revolutionaries!

we are building towards a revolutionary matriarchal future, which will be the opposite of patriarchy, not its mirror image. matriarchy will be a revolutionary future, in which social construct of gender is eliminated and humanity is re-socialized, in which values of caring, nurturance, creativity, compassion and collectivity prevail. we denounce gynocide: the ways that capitalism and white supremacy have attempted to break the spirit of struggle by inflicting violence upon and de-valuing womyn and all we represent.

Tuesday, March 11th, 2014

We're back at it again for our monthly residency at Brew. Spring is in the air and I've been busy planning for summer with Urban Art Beat! Join us as we gather to network and raise awareness for music and arts education.

This month I will be featuring hip hop artist and UAB fam Baxter Words. We will showcase some of his music as well as new originals from yours truly.

Musicians and MCs are still encouraged to come and sit in, you never know who's going to show up in Bedstuy!!

DJ Spiritchild Mental Notes will be holding us down for the late night dance party. Come hang and build with our collective of amazing artists, educators, and revolutionaries!

For a $10 suggested donation, attendees will enjoy a celebration that will include performances including thetwo­time Edison award winner and grammy­nominated jazz trumpeter and composer Christian Scott; MTVMade featured singer­songwriter and a collaborator on a Grammy­winning album Maya Azucena; and thelegendary Abiodun of the Last Poets, who will be honored with a lifetime Revolutionary Award from ScientificSoul Sessions. Maroon’s fiancee, Ayanna R’Auf, will be presenting on what made the campaign successful. Totop it all off, freedom singer spiritchild will take the opportunity to announce the launch of a 21st­century BlackArts Movement, in collaboration with the National Black Theatre.

On January 19th, Scientific Soul Sessions & Movement in Motion will celebrate a momentous event: themarriage of 70 year old Russell “Maroon” Shoatz, in 23 consecutive years of solitary confinement, with longtimeblack organizer and matriarch Ayanna R’auf.

Russell "Maroon" Shoatz has been kept in solitary confinement in the state of Pennsylvania for 30 years afterbeing elected president of the prison­approved Lifers' Association. He was initially convicted for his alleged role in an attack authorities claim was carried out by militant black activists on the Fairmont Park Police Station inPhiladelphia that left a park sergeant dead.Despite not having violated prison rules in more than two decades, state prison officials have refused to releasehim into the general prison population. Russell's family and supporters claim that the Pennsylvania Departmentof Corrections (PA DOC) has unlawfully altered the consequences of his criminal conviction, sentencing him todie in solitary confinement ­ a death imposed by decades of no­touch torture.

Maroon’s marriage to Ayanna R’auf ushers in a new era into his campaign and Scientific Soul Sessions that ismatriarchal and mother­centric.

Scientific Soul Sessions is a multi­generational group united by the drive to pre­figure a new society free of imperialism, colonization,racism, heteropatriarchy, and capitalist exploitation. For more information, seewww.scientificsoulsessions.com.

Movement In Motion is an international artist & activist

collective dedicated to our youth, political prisoners and revolutionary arts.

Friday, September 27th, 2013

**Please note: The Cop Watch Conference (Sept. 27-28) is not open to the media.**

Please join MXGM, the Justice Committee & CAAAV for theOpening Celebration of the Cop Watch Conference 2013! On the opening night of the Cop Watch Conference 2013, come build with Cop Watchers and police violence/accountability organizers from across the US as we celebrate this occasion!

Festivities will include a short film exhibition, performances, and a Keynote address by Lumumba Bandele, Co-founder of MXGM's Cop Watch program & Senior Organizer with LDF.

This September 27-28, Cop Watchers and police accountability organizers from across the country will converge to share skills, practices, resources, and ideas. Specifically aimed at bringing together groups and individuals from WITHIN communities highly targeted by police abuse & violence, this Cop Watch Conference aims for our own communities to be empowered & organized to affect the way our peoples are policed ourselves. Over the course of two days, we will envision and develop a Cop Watch community that is stronger, more unified and better prepared to affect real change for & with our communities.

Friday September 27, 20137-10pm@ The Point, 940 Garrison AveHunts Point, in the South Bronx NYC*6 train to Hunts Point

Friday, September 27th, 7-10pmProgramThe opening celebration of the Cop Watch Conference begins with an film exhibition, featuring youth-created short films and rare footage from Black Panther Collective cop watch patrols. The films will begin at 6:45pm for early arrivals.

At 7:30: Lumumba Bandele, co-founder of MXGM's Cop Watch Program and Senior Community Organizer of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, will offer a Keynote address followed by Q&A and dialogue . The evening will end with amazing musical performances by local artists.

-----Presented by Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, the Justice Committee and CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities, with support from the Center for Constitutional Rights.

Akim creates borderless performance art fusing sounds and movements. He is known for his holistic approach to Hip Hop, drawing from a full spectrum of cultural traditions and artistic disciplines.

Akim's exceptional stage productions transcend borders and has featured at prestigious venues such as The Kennedy Center (Washington DC), and throughout New York City including Central Park Summer Stage, The Blue Note ,The Whitney Museum (VH1 Hip Hop Honors), Lincoln Center Outdoors, Joe's Pub, The Winter Garden, La MaMa Theater & The Rubin Museum. His shows are featured annually at BAMCafé Live, The Brooklyn Academy of Music.

He won the award for Best Choreography in New York's Fringe Festival where he choreographed for actors in the musical "Average Asian American.” Akim has made appearances on The Late Show with David Letterman and Sesame Street, and can be seen as an M.C. in the award winning Documentary “FreeStyle - The Art of Rhyme”.

Akim has collaborated with a range of ground-breaking artists. To name a few, Bobby McFerrin at Carnegie Hall, Tony Award winning Director Bill T Jones, touring the world with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance company performing as throat singer/vocalist, beat boxer, multi-percussionist, and dancer.

Akim is an advocate for alternative methods in learning. He has developed innovative teaching methods that utilize both movement and sound for kids with learning differences. Akim believes that through the power of music and performance, fear and ignorance can be conquered and the world is brought a bit closer together. - See more at: http://www.bluenote.net/newyork/schedule/moreinfo.cgi?id=11257#sthash.m61s5oWS.dpuf

On August 23 & 24th, 2013, from 7pm-9pm, the Campaign to Free Russell Maroon Shoatz, in collaboration with Scientific

Soul Sessions, Movement in Motion, and Human Rights Coalition-Fed Up! will be hosting events in Pittsburgh and New

York City to celebrate Maroon's 70th birthday.

Maroon, who has spent close to 30 years in solitary confinement in the state of Pennsylvania, is a crucial symbol in the

growing movement against the long-standing practice of solitary, which amounts to unconstitutional torture under

international human rights law.

His case, currently being reviewed by the United Nations, is under heavy scrutiny as he has been relocated to a lowersecurity facility at SCI-Mahanoy, whose administration has recommended that he be released into general population. It is

only Pennsylvania's Department of Correction (DOC) Secretary John Wetzel that stands in the way of Maroon's freedom

from torture.

The dual-city event will feature artists and speakers from across the country committed to building a unified national

On August 23 & 24th, 2013, from 7pm-9pm, the Campaign to Free Russell Maroon Shoatz, in collaboration with Scientific

Soul Sessions, Movement in Motion, and Human Rights Coalition-Fed Up! will be hosting events in Pittsburgh and New

York City to celebrate Maroon's 70th birthday.

Maroon, who has spent close to 30 years in solitary confinement in the state of Pennsylvania, is a crucial symbol in the

growing movement against the long-standing practice of solitary, which amounts to unconstitutional torture under

international human rights law.

His case, currently being reviewed by the United Nations, is under heavy scrutiny as he has been relocated to a lower security facility at SCI-Mahanoy, whose administration has recommended that he be released into general population. It is

only Pennsylvania's Department of Correction (DOC) Secretary John Wetzel that stands in the way of Maroon's freedom

from torture.

The dual-city event will feature artists and speakers from across the country committed to building a unified national

On August 23 & 24th, 2013, from 7pm-9pm, the Campaign to Free Russell Maroon Shoatz, in collaboration with Scientific

Soul Sessions, Movement in Motion, and Human Rights Coalition-Fed Up! will be hosting events in Pittsburgh and New

York City to celebrate Maroon's 70th birthday.

Maroon, who has spent close to 30 years in solitary confinement in the state of Pennsylvania, is a crucial symbol in the

growing movement against the long-standing practice of solitary, which amounts to unconstitutional torture under

international human rights law.

His case, currently being reviewed by the United Nations, is under heavy scrutiny as he has been relocated to a lowersecurity facility at SCI-Mahanoy, whose administration has recommended that he be released into general population. It is

only Pennsylvania's Department of Correction (DOC) Secretary John Wetzel that stands in the way of Maroon's freedom

from torture.

The dual-city event will feature artists and speakers from across the country committed to building a unified national

On August 23 & 24th, 2013, from 7pm-9pm, the Campaign to Free Russell Maroon Shoatz, in collaboration with Scientific

Soul Sessions, Movement in Motion, and Human Rights Coalition-Fed Up! will be hosting events in Pittsburgh and New

York City to celebrate Maroon's 70th birthday.

Maroon, who has spent close to 30 years in solitary confinement in the state of Pennsylvania, is a crucial symbol in the

growing movement against the long-standing practice of solitary, which amounts to unconstitutional torture under

international human rights law.

His case, currently being reviewed by the United Nations, is under heavy scrutiny as he has been relocated to a lowersecurity facility at SCI-Mahanoy, whose administration has recommended that he be released into general population. It is

only Pennsylvania's Department of Correction (DOC) Secretary John Wetzel that stands in the way of Maroon's freedom

from torture.

The dual-city event will feature artists and speakers from across the country committed to building a unified national

The Universal Hip-Hop Parade for Social Justice, Inc. (UHHP) is a not-for-profit, cultural & social justice organization inspired by the legacy of Marcus Garvey and the contemporary impact of hi-hop culture. The UHHP organizes events such as essay contests, open-mics showcases, progressive parties, educational forums and voter registration campaigns to empower the community, with a focus on Bedford-Stuyvesant. Our signature event is the annual Universal Hip-Hop Parade which is the world’s first parade dedicated to hip-hop culture and social justice.

UHHP is a membership organization that has its annual convention in the Fall. We have a core group of community activists who make financial and time commitments on an annual basis that provide resources for the organizations activities.

PLEASE COME OUT & SHOW YOUR LOVE & SUPPORT TO OUR NEXT GENERATION IN OUR COMMUNITY!!

Saturday, August 10th, 2013

featuring spiritchild (set around 3pm)honoring our ancestors threw the arts and community love free for the people to enjoy18th Annual African American Pride Family FestivalSaturday August 10, 2013:: 12pm-7pmHerman Holloway ParkN. Lombard & East 7th StreetsWilmington, Delaware

Saturday, August 10th, 2013

"Movement 7" Creates Dirty Jazz Hip-Hop Music at Nublu Club in New York City

Jay Rodriquez and Swiss Chris are Names Synonymous with New Music Waves in New York City. Together with Kevin Njikam, Malik Work and Dezron Douglas they Formed the DirtyDirty JazzHipHop Music of "Movement 7". See at Nublu Club, August 10th, Midnight.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Movement 7 - Founders Swiss Chris (L) and Kevin Njikam (R)

PRLog (Press Release) - Aug. 1, 2013 - NEW YORK -- Swiss Chris: Music Director/Drummer, is an in-demand first-call session drummer/music director. Swiss is well-known for his work as musical director and drummer for the nine-time GRAMMY® winner John Legend, with whom he worked for four years. He is now concentrating on his own solo career with a forthcoming album. Swiss is also actively involved with his charitable organization, S.W.I.S.S. (Saving With Instruments, Samples and Soundz), dedicated to healing, education, and promoting communication through music for the betterment of the world. Swiss Chris has worked with artists such as Sir Elton John, Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, Common, Wyclef Jean, James "Blood" Ulmer, Gloria Gaynor, Miss Lauryn Hill, Corinne Bailey Rae, India Arie, Bridget Kelly, Marsha Ambrosius and has appeared on numerous television shows. Swiss Chris endorses Natal Drums, Sabian Cymbals, Regal Tip Sticks, Evans Drum Heads, Roland Electronics.http://www.swisschris777.com

Photo Credit: GingerNewYork TV Show

Jay Rodriquez: Reeds, Composer, Arranger. Jay is a two-time Grammy nominee and is an impeccably seasoned and versatile jazz saxophone player, having collaborated with such greats as Miles Davis, Prince, Tupac Shakur, James Brown, Celia Cruz, Paquito d Rivera, Eddie Palmieri, Gil Evans, Elvis Costello, George Porter Jr., Widespread Panic, Musique Soulchild, The Roots, Guru, DJ Premiere, Mingus Big Band, Craig Harris, Fred Wesley, Medeski, Martin and Wood, and Ray Barretto, among others. Mr. Rodriquez is the co-founder/director of New York’s much-in-demand Groove Collective and has performed his music all over the world. Mr. Rodriquez is a true pioneer of many great musical waves in NYC.http://jayrodriguez.com

Nublu Club62 Avenue C, between 4/5th St.New York, New York 10009Saturday August 10thMidnight and 2am$10 Admission 21 and over

Spiritchild: Is a freedom singer/emcee from the south Bronx by way of Brooklyn, who uses the arts to cultivate a cultural revolution. spiritchild integrates activism and hip hop music production as the founder of the Movement In Motion Artist & Activist Collective. As the Rhythmic Poet of the Hip Hop Fusion Band Mental Notes, he uses his music to converse with his audience to the injustices facing the poor and oppressed, inspiring action on environmental and social justice in New York City and around the world. As the VP of Universal Zulu Nation Brooklyn NYC, he preserves the true essence of hip hop while xspiritmenting with Sun Ra meditations. www.xspiritmental.com

Dezron Douglas: Known for his musical versatility, bassist Dezron Douglas is one of the most in demand young bassists in jazz today. Composer, educator and bandleader, Dezron has established himself as a musician’s musician, respected not only for his talent but also for his dedication to the authenticity of the music. Over the years, he has continued to perform and record with Michael Carvin, Pharoah Sanders, Cyrus Chestnut, Abraham Burton/Eric McPherson, Louis Hayes, Rene McLean, Al Foster, Ravi Coltrane, Billy Drummond, Steve Davis, Winard Harper, Lewis Nash, Kevin Mahogany, Carla Cook, Kenny Garrett, Willie Jones III, Jeremy Pelt, Eric Reed, Papo Vazquez and The Marsalis Bros. http://dezrondouglas.com

Kevin Njikam: Kevin is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, sound healer based in the San Francisco Bay area. He's performed with a wide variety of acts at venues and festivals around the country and performed with musicians ranging from Hip Hop artist Killah Priest (of Wu-Tang Clan), to world music artists, to singer/songwriter/activists like Singing Bear, Human, and Mama Crow. He's shared the stage with artists like Nneka, Blackaliscious, and Ozomotli. He has also studied and mingled with greats from both the jazz and sound healing world. http://formlessheights.bandcamp.com

Please attend this celebration of Fred Ho's music, ideas, and incredible life, which, even through his struggles, has enriched all our lives and has made a unique and priceless contribution to art and society. Whether you have known Fred Ho for decades or whether you are just getting acquainted with his work, you won't want to miss this event. In typical Fred Ho style, our birthday celebration will be held in the beautiful Engelman Recital Hall of the Baruch Performing Arts Center. Receive a confirmation and directions when you RSVP to the website at http://discoverfredho.org/aug10event/

A DOCUMENTARY PREVIEW SCREENING

Although the celebration is evolving, we know that we will be screening scenes from the documentary FRED HO's LAST YEAR, produced by Steven De Castro and Howard Fischer. Half the funds collected will go towards the documentary, as a way of bringing Fred's legacy to new audiences.

A MUSICAL TRIBUTE BY THE ACCLAIMED SCIENTIFIC SOUL SESSIONS BAND will also be featured.

This celebration will include a special tribute performance by the musicians who have played with Fred for years.

The main event is, of course, our honoree, Fred Ho. Even through his struggle with cancer, he has always found a way to share what he has learned to bring some greater understanding in our lives.

Mark August 10 on your calendars, and RSVP today!

BRIEF APPEARANCE BY spiritchild WITH SSS BAND

You are invited to an evening in honor of

FREDHO

on the occasion of his birthday.

AUGUST10

Please attend this celebration of FredHo's music, ideas, and incredible life, which, even through his struggles, has enriched all our lives and has made a unique and priceless contribution to art and society. Whether you have known FredHo for decades or whether you are just getting acquainted with his work, you won't want to miss this event. In typicalFredHo style, our birthday celebration will be held in the beautiful Engelman Recital Hall of the Baruch Performing Arts Center. Receive a confirmation and directions when you RSVP to the website at http://discoverfredho.org/aug10event/

A DOCUMENTARY PREVIEW SCREENING

Although the celebration is evolving, we know that we will be screening scenes from the documentary FREDHO's LAST YEAR, produced by Steven De Castro and Howard Fischer. Half the funds collected will go towards the documentary, as a way of bringingFred's legacy to new audiences.

A MUSICAL TRIBUTE BY THE ACCLAIMED SCIENTIFIC SOUL SESSIONS BAND will also be featured.

This celebration will include a special tribute performance by the musicians who have played with Fred for years.

The main event is, of course, our honoree, FredHo. Even through his struggle with cancer, he has always found a way to share what he has learned to bring some greater understanding in our lives.

featuring revolutionary music from spiritchild & Mental Notes along with members of the Scientific Soul Sessions Band and more....

Appearances by Dequi of the Sekou Odina Defense Committee as well as Brother Shep of Universal Zulu Nation, People's Survival Program, former Black Panther/Black Liberation Army Member

Mental "Blue" Notes

A REVOLUTIONARY SET FOR ASSATA SHAKUR AND SEKOU ODINGA.Celebrating Black Augustwww.xspiritmental.com featuring revolutionary music from spiritchild & Mental Notes along with members of the Scientific Soul Sessions Band and more....Appearances by Dequi of the Sekou Odina Defense Committee as well as Brother Shep of Universal Zulu Nation, People's Survival Program, former Black Panther/Black Liberation Army Member

The Community Block Party is a fun, safe venue for children, community members, and our clients to enjoy free food, music and entertainment, play games, participate in arts and crafts, register to vote, compete in dance and basketball competitions, and connect with local community groups and important social service organizations. This year, we will have performances by local groups, raffle prizes, a DJ, face-painting, a pony-ride, carnival games and treats, and a moon bounce. We will provide information on our services for community members, and our partnering local community service groups will be providing medical advice and information, voter registration, immigration help, affordable housing info, and much more.

For more information, contact Kamau Butcher at kamaub@bronxdefenders.org or 718-838-7832.

Celebrate the release of our second album, Life is War, on July 6th, 2013 at SHRINE MUSIC VENUE in Harlem, NY from 6pm to 9pm. 2271 Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd, New York, NY. 21+ Take the B, 2, or 3 train to the 135th stop or the D to 125thWe will be joined by a live band- Sky Disco on guitar , Baassik-bass, and Tyrone Williams on drums!

Saturday, June 8th, 2013

Invitation to discussion onHip Hop: The Art of Resistancecurated by Movement In Motion NYC

AtPace University, New York CityRoom: W607, Time: Saturday, 8th of June 10:00am-11:50am

Abstract: Hip Hop As Resistance: The Art of Struggle This workshop gives a brief historical time line of black & brown liberation struggles and resistance through the origins and roots of hip hop. What has been the role of art/hip hop in social struggles? What is hip hop (defined as a culture) and what are the elements that make hip hop? Through various creative exercises, music presentations and discussion we will reignite the imagination with art/hip hop to bring forth solutions and tactics for social change. Examples of the power of Hip Hop through Pedagogy on a global scale are presented from Egypt, India, Germany & Czech Republic.

Left Forum is the largest annual conference of the broad Left in the United States. Each spring thousands of conference participants come together to discuss pressing local, national and global issues; to better understand commonalities and differences, and alternatives to current predicaments; or to share ideas to help build social movements to transform the world.This year's theme of Left Forum is "Mobilizing for Economical/Ecological transformation.” Speakers include Noam Chomsky, Oliver Stone and Bolivian Vice President Alvaro Garcia LineraClick here to Register

*** Please forward widely ****

More info on panelist and presenters below.

Rukia LumumbaDirector of Youth Advocacy Services for CCA New York City · New York, New YorkThe Center for Community Alternatives (CCA) is a leader in the field of community-based alternatives to incarceration. Our mission is to promote reintegrative justice and a reduced reliance on incarceration through advocacy, services and public policy development in pursuit of civil and human rights. CCA serves people in trouble: youth at risk; families in crisis; people struggling to address drug and alcohol problems and HIV and AIDS; and people who have been involved in the criminal justice system who are seeking community reintegration and productive, law-abiding lives. CCA endeavors to address these issues by emphasizing personal empowerment, self-respect and concern for one's community.

Rachel FieldMy name is Rachel Field and I am a second year student at Fordham University majoring in African and African American Studies. I am a community organizing and civil rights activist. I am a member of the A.N.S.W.E.R. coalition which is an organization that seeks to stop war and end racism. I am also a member of Anakbayan, a organization that seeks to bring justice to the Philippines as well as justice to Filipino youth and workers here in the United States. I am a hiphop activist and artist. I have been an organizer since I was 16 years old, and I was inspired by the conditions of the community I am from. My aspirations in life is to bring awareness to the systemic racial oppression faced by Asian Americans today, and to build greater solidarity between the African and Asian diasporic communities. African American and Asian American solidarity is one of the key links to win the war against racism and have true equal opportunity for all people.

HIRED GUNMikal Amin Lee aka “HG” is a Hip Hop/Spoken Word artist, performer, and educator extraordinaire. He is the founder of Fresh Roots Music, Co-founder of Say Word entertainment, an education facilitator for the International Hip Hop media company; Nomadic Wax, and Program Director for Urban Word. As an artist he has a specific focus: Roots, Truth, and Culture. The veteran of several international tours, as well as a U.S. State Department Music Ambassador for 2013-2014, HG continues to spread Hip Hop Culture worldwide through message, mission and mantra.

spiritchildspiritchild, as he is known, is a freedom singer from the south Bronx by way of Brooklyn, who uses the arts to cultivate a cultural revolution. He integrates activism and hip hop music production as the founder of the International Movement In Motion Artist & Activist Collective and member of the Universal Zulu Nation. As the Rhythmic Poet of the Hip Hop Fusion Band Mental Notes, he uses his music to converse with his audience to the injustices facing the poor and oppressed, inspiring action on environmental and social justice in New York City and around the world. He is an instructor for songwriting and artist development at several public schools, shelters and alternative to incarceration programs throughout New York, and facilitates that process internationally on seasonal tours in Afrika, South East Asia, Europe and elsewhere.

Saturday, April 13th, 2013

Join the Justice for Kenny Coalition for the Annual March on 5th Avenue against Police Brutality by the notorious Suffolk County Police, marking the 5th anniversary of the police murder of Kenny Lazo!

What: JKC Annual 5th Avenue March against Police Brutality

Where: Suffolk County 3rd Precinct 1650 5th Avenue, Bay Shore, NY

When: Saturday, April 13th 2013

Time: 1:00PM

The Justice for Kenny Coalition & supporters are calling Suffolk County residents, ALL OF LONG ISLAND & ALL OF NEW YORK to COME FORWARD, STAND UP, SPEAK OUT, and MARCH against the Police Brutality that has plagued Long Island communities for decades! Five years ago, on April 12th, 2008, Kenny Lazo was pulled over and then beaten to death by a gang of five Suffolk County police officers: Christopher Talt, Joseph Link, William Judge, James Scimone, & John Newton. The officers involved had seven prior complaints filed against them for excessive use of force, but that didn't keep them off the streets that fateful night they took Kenny's life! To make matters worse, the grand jury found no reason to indict the officers, even though the Coroner's office deemed Kenny's death a homicide. Multiply Kenny's case by tens or hundreds, and you have an idea of what Long Island residents have faced in the past and must face EVERYDAY - the knowledge that a loved one can be killed in any instant, and those responsible will never be held accountable!

Collectively, we are calling for a deeper investigation to bring the murdering officers to justice and demand that the police department, courts, and media, who work hand in hand to cover up these crimes, essentially allowing for the continuation of these crimes, also be held accountable! This can only be made possible if and when Long Island residents come together to speak out against Police Brutality and organize to fight against this oppressive system that does not care about the lives of the loved ones we have lost, or US!

On Saturday, April 13th, 2013, the rally will begin at 1PM in front of the 3rd Precinct of the Suffolk County Police Department at 1650 5th Avenue, in Bay Shore, Long Island, NY. Family members & supporters will be speaking out against the police violence in the community, and artists will be performing. At 2:30PM, we will march along 5th Avenue and neighboring streets.

We are looking for interested individuals and organizations (specifically in Long Island) for the support we need to make this event successful.

We are organizing rides from New York City to Long Island for the day of the march.

Please write to JusticeforKennyLazo@yahoo.com and/or ACDMedia@ymail.com for more information.

Police brutality & corruption is no stranger to Long Island communities. A few years ago, the Southern Poverty Law Center sent up their own investigative journalists from Alabama because police brutality & hate crimes were unusually high, requesting US Attorney General Eric Holder to launch a federal investigation. Now, the New York Civil Liberties Union is suing Suffolk County Jails for their appalling living conditions. Families of police brutality victims are coming forward with their stories, filled with lies & corruption on the sides of the police, the courts & mainstream media. It’s only a matter of time. If you or your friends or family have ever experienced police abuse, YOU ARE NOT ALONE. Please come forward with your story. Anonymity is always an option.

Sunday, March 24th, 2013

On Sunday March 24th, 2013 (from 8:30PM-1AM, @ Club Pyramid, 101 Ave A, NY, NY) the longest weekly running open-mic in the history of New York City opens its doors to the Justice for Kenny Coalition to host a fundraiser/showcase.

Featuring a heavy hitting line up of Hip-Hop artists that are not only accomplished musically but who have shown a commitment to forwarding social justice movements globally. In addition to amazing performances the powerful documentary short "Forced Trajectory: The Story of Jennifer Gonzalez" produced by ACD Media will be shown.

Join us as the legendary End Of The Weak and the Justice For Kenny Coalition come together to bring you an evening of thought provoking Hip-Hop raising funds to support the rally/march being held on Saturday April 13t in Suffolk County, LI for Kenny Lazo and all victims of police brutality.

About the police murder of Kenny Lazo & the Justice for Kenny Coalition:

Kenn Lazo was beaten to death with flashlights by 5 Suffolk County Police officers on April 12th, 2008.

The officers involved had 7 prior complaints filed against them for excessive use of force with blunt objects.

Kenny's family was never given a reason as to why he was arrested or beaten. The Coroner's Office deemed his death homicide, but the authorities refused to indict the officers. To this day, they are still patrolling the streets.

Kenny left behind his young son, Kenny, Jr., who is now 10, and his son's mother, Jennifer Gonzalez.

The Justice for Kenny Coalition was formed in April of 2010, marking the 2nd year anniversary of Kenny’s death. Our members stem from all sorts of backgrounds including family and friends of Kenny, community organizers, educators, and artists, nationwide and internationally. Our mission is to spread the story of Kenny Lazo in whatever way we can, engage people to talk and think critically about Police Brutality and its link to racism, and empower the Long Island community to stand up for their civil rights rather than sit idly by as they are stripped away day by day, neighbor by neighbor. Since our inception, Kenny Lazo’s name and story have been echoed through countless chants at protests all over the nation, through the lyrics of hip hop songs internationally, through the brush strokes of passionate visual artists, through the search engines of the interweb, and into the eyes, ears, and spirits of people young and old who are thirsting to know the truth about justice and the police.

This workshop gives a brief historical time line of black & brown liberation struggles and resistance through the origins and roots of hip hop. What has been the role of art / hip hop in social struggles? What is hip hop (defined as a culture) and what are the elements that make hip hop? Through various creative exercises, music presentations and discussion we will reignite the imagination with art / hip hop to bring forth solutions and tactics for social change.

featuring performances by spiritchild along with Miky, Prince Akeem and Phyre of Art Start.

2pm in the Center for Gender, Sexuality, and Activism (basement of the GSU)

About spiritchild: spiritchild, as he is known, is a freedom singer from the south Bronx by way of Brooklyn, who uses the arts to cultivate a cultural revolution. He integrates activism and hip hop into music production and workshops. He is a member of the Universal Zulu Nation and the founder of the International Movement In Motion Artist & Activist Collective. As the Rhythmic Poet of the Hip Hop Fusion Band Mental Notes, he uses his music to converse with his audience to the injustices facing the poor and oppressed and inspires action on environmental and social justice issues in New York City and around the world. He is an instructor for recording, writing and production at several public schools throughout New York, and facilitates the process of personal and artistic development internationally on seasonal tours in Afrika, South East Asia, Europe and elsewhere.

spiritchild has produced, recorded and performed with award winning grammy nominee Maya Azucena, legendary Les Nubians, The Last Poets & Gil Scott-Heron’s Midnight Band, spoken word Nuyorican poets champion Ainsley Burrows, The Coup, X-Vandals & Ricanstructions very own N4P to name a few.

Balance has been created between the personal and artistic development by engaging and working with the youth through hip hop pedagogy as program director of Youth Offender Outreach and Emerging Artist and Residency programs at Art Start and continuing the work at outside Juvenile Detention Facilitates and alternative to incarceration programs. He has also worked with intellectually disabled and psychologically diagnosed adults in the Bronx providing counseling and coordinating events and activities pertaining to the culture of Hip Hop.

The purpose of ART START is to nurture the voices, hearts and minds of at-risk youth through creative arts workshops conducted daily inside homeless shelters and alternative to incarceration programs throughout New York City. Featuring Miky, Prince Akeem & Phyrewww.art-start.orgwww.xspiritmental.com

NOT4PROPHET (of the X-Vandals): "X-Vandals are underground street soldiers battling for the very heart and soul of this upside down society. They're this generations guerrilla graffiti artists, spraying the stage with a wild style statement of purpose and bombing a multi-colored musical manifesto on all trains of thought in todays false representation of our Hip Hop culture. X-Vandals is simply reality's writing on the wall" - DMC of RUN DMChttp://agitrap.com/x_vandals/

Peace and blessings to all universal beings on this so called planet earth!!!!

THE UNIVERSAL ZULU NATION MULTI-CULTURAL CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE

This center will serve as a safe haven for community youth as well as elders. This center will provide neighborhood youth a place to learn life skills and educational studies and above all be safe. In this time of after school programs being cut from budgets in schools our youth are left with nothing to do and no where to go.

We will offer many workshops to help assist our youth to be ready for life after High School. These workshops will include life skills (how to write a resume, how to handle job interviews, how to dress for job interviews). We will have guest speakers to conduct these workshops and to help prepare the children. Some workshops can be overseen by community elders many of which are retired professionals. This gives them a sense of worth and something to occupy themselves, and it also helps bridge so-called generation gaps as both the elders and the youth learn more about each other.

In this time where obesity is a major issue in our communities we will conduct classes and workshops nutrition and healthier living. We will also have a gym. The gym will provide a clean safe environment for our children to play, exercise, and learn the spirit of competition through organized sports. The gym will also be used for self defense classes. We would also have an exercise room for weight training, calisthenics, and aerobics.

We will also include a recording studio, photography studio, and other arts and craft studios/workshops (drawing, sculpting, and painting).This will give the members of the center hands on experience with professionals in their respective fields. All these programs are important to the development of the creative skills in our youth. A lot of these programs are no longer available in schools.

We will also provide child care services. There are many young mothers in our community that want to work or go to school but they can’t because of the lack of safe places to provide child care. The elders can also be an important part of child care. We will also have a library which will provide our youth with a place to do their homework as well as read up on things that they will not learn in school.

For more information please contact either email address below:

Email to:uznbuidingfund@gmail.com or zulustaff@earthlink.net

Wednesday, December 5th, 2012

Revolutionary hip-hop legends THE COUP and electropunk tour de force JAPANTHER are on joining up for a tour package unlike anything else you'll have the chance to see all year. Joining them for the Cambridge date are local minimal synth darklings RUBY RIDGE, JP radical queer riot-folkster EVAN GREER & spiritchild (back to the roots) and Oakland-based pianist/MC KEV CHOICE. Don't miss out and SPREAD THE WORD!!!

6pm Doors! Music starts at 7pm sharp! $15 adv, $18 dos. 18+

Just announced: LA hip-hop favorites PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS will perform before THE COUP. their show was moved from The Sinclair.

Last year New York police stopped 686,000 people as part of their “Stop and Frisk” policy. Post Code Criminals is an artistic collaboration between Dread Scott, a Brooklyn based artist, Joann Kushner an artist in Liverpool UK, and young adults in Brooklyn and Liverpool whom they have been working with since Fall, 2011.

In 1996 NY police chief William Bratton met with his counterpart Ray Mallon in the UK to share zero tolerance policing strategy. The result was that youth in Liverpool and in New York were further criminalized based on where they live—their post code (the UK zip code). Youth on either side of the Atlantic have been drawn into an unusual symmetry by police and governmental forces.

Kushner, Scott and the young adults from Brooklyn NY and Liverpool UK are using cameras to address the effects of this police intervention in their lives and their communities.

Over the past year Kushner and Scott have led a series of workshops for young adults in communities of Liverpool and East New York, Brooklyn. Each artist worked with youth (aged 14-22), teaching them photography and how to show their world through their lens. The aim was to highlight Stop and Search/Stop and Frisk through art and exhibitions, providing a platform for youth and communities to engage a public dialogue. The exhibition at Rush arts Gallery will be the first viewing of this work in the US.

The project has worked with over 125 young people in both cities. For several months, Scott worked with youth from Man Up, Inc. a community organization based in East New York Brooklyn. Kushner’s workshops were centered at Norris Green, Toxteth and Everton in Liverpool. The artists arranged trans-Atlantic Skype video calls so that the young adults from Liverpool and Brooklyn could share their experience. The participants researched the issue and collected stories. They captured, through film, photography, collage and poetry the realities of life for young people and communities who live in areas where stop and frisk has become the norm.

The artwork will be presented at Rush Arts Gallery, opening September 13, 2012. The exhibition will include: • Cell phone photographs made by young adults documenting their East New York Brooklyn neighborhood. • Street photographs from Liverpool youth. • Collages made by Liverpool youth about the effects that Stop and Search has had on the way young people feel about how they live. • Photographic portraits of Liverpool youth, modeled after Renaissance paintings. • Kushner’s interviews with youth about Post Code with young adults who participated in the project. • “Stop,” a video installation by Scott that features portraits of youth from both countries as each recounts the multiple times that they have been stopped by the police.

Wednesday, September 26th, 2012

The Hip Hop Book Club is the first all hip hop, songwriting book club where hip hop artists and emcees compose and perform songs inspired by a work of literature. An offshoot of The Bushwick Book Club (the first songwriting book club formed in Brooklyn in January 2009), the first performance of the Hip Hop Book Club was as a part of the BBC series on March 2010 with eight hip hop artists and musicians performing songs written in response to Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. Human beat boxer/emcee, Kid Lucky and BBC creator, Susan Hwang co-hosted the show to a full house, and the event received notice from "The New York Times," "Timeout NY" and music/entertainment blogs as well as "nerd" and comic blogs. $7 Advance/$10 at the door

Saturday, September 22nd, 2012

Join us Saturday, September 22nd at 8pm for a night of visual and auditory brilliance. Come feel the love and positive vibes of spiritchild. Rock out to the sweet sounds of BEYOND GRAVITY. Bang your head to the mesmerizing melodies of KARMA'S ARMY. Dance in the glow and flow of KICKSONIC. And enjoy the stunning visual art of local artists James Giardina, Jillian DeLuca, Rodrigo Valles, Colleen Blackard, and photographer Breukellen Riesgo.

It's all going down live at Manny's on Second in NYC's Upper East S

ide. Don't forget to bring an appetite and a thirst, as they have a wonderful menu of beverage and fare! Just $8 at the door!

Saturday, September 8th, 2012

KICKSONIC brings its unique blend of flavors to Ditmas Park's favorite flowershop by day and watering hole by night! Buy your loved one a lovely bouqet, treat yourself to a tasty beverage (or four, or more!), and enjoy the smooth sounds and sweet melodies of KICKSONIC!

spiritchild:

spirit will be performing exclusive Electric Cinnamon releases to end and continue the vibrations of Black August.

Kicksonic: Five eclectic musicians from five corners of NY band together on a mission to Kicksonic. A quixotic sound of musical reverence. Each band member pulls from the others inspirational style. With an ear for detail, Jorge’s acoustic style ranges from Spanish, rock, pop, funk, and everything in between. Mark's bass gives depth leaving you rocking your head. Zach the human metronome moves the rhythm through the atmosphere with hip-hop rock drumming. Breuk on violin, a sweet sound gives light and vibrations feeding into an ambient vibe. Carly Delight pours out her soul with powerful vocals taking after such artists as Adele, Robert Plant, and Hayley Williams. With a flute, synthesizer and music streaming from her computer she plays like a mad scientist conducting Kicksonic experiments.

Please donate to this worthy cause and enjoy a show, good food, and meet friends!

The Philadelphia Clef Club

Broad & Fitzwater

Your M.C. for the evening will be MOVE activist Pam Africa, and attorney activist, Michael Coard.

There will be a raffle for some great prizes, so come early and stay late!

To purchase tickets, call Anita Hamilton: 215.848.3168 / Pam Africa: 215.921.8914 / Razakhan Shaeed:215.921.8914 Money order donations should be made out to The Philadelphia Innocence Project with the notation: Sept. 7, 2012. There is seating for 225 people; if you cannot attend, please donate to this special event (cash or money orders only, in the past we've had to pay the fine for bounced checks)

** I MUST SELL 100 OF THE 225 BY SEPTEMBER 5!

This event will feature the electrifying, thought provoking, soul stirring performance of the Last Poets, who joined Brother Bilal in new York on Aug. 23 rd for an outstanding performance for political prisoner Sekou Odinga, one of the many New York political prisoners. Also after a year-long national and international tour joing the program is Dr. Umar Johnson. When you hear this brother, it will open your eyes, ears and mind to the horrifying awful truth about what this government is doing in public schools to our children. You might want to bring pen or tape recorder to record this information. Also performing will be: Not 4 Profit & spiritchild –Reconstruction lead vocalist & along with Mental Notes lead vocalist combine to form X-Vandals. These young performers command the stage and you will remember their performance for a long time to come; in a good way. They mentor young folks in prison and bring them into a positive atmosphere in the community where they can mentor other youth.

Join us for this night of music to honor our imprisoned freedom fighters and our warriors who have passed, featuring (RIP) Gil Scott-Heron's very own Midnight Band!! All proceeds go towards the struggle to free political prisoners.

Wednesday, July 11th, 2012

Bronx Defenders

You are Invited to The Bronx Defenders 2012 Community Block Party - 12-5pm

East 160th Street between Courtlandt and Melrose Avenues Bronx, New York [map]

Price: free

featuring a set by spiritchild of Mental Notes & Art Start's One Mic Collective

You are Invited to The Bronx Defenders 2012 Community Block Party

WHAT: The Bronx Defenders Community Block Party is a fun, safe venue for children and community members to enjoy free food, music and entertainment, play games, participate in arts and crafts, register to vote, compete in a basketball competition, and connect with community groups and social service organizations. The Block Party will have performances by local groups, a raffle, face-painting, clowns and balloon animals, a pony-ride, relay races, carnival games and treats, and a moon bounce! The Bronx Defenders and partnering community organizations will provide information about their services for attendees.

WHEN: Wednesday, July 11, 2012 from 12pm-5pm.

WHERE: East 160th Street between Courtlandt and Melrose Avenues

WHO: The Bronx Defenders is a non-profit legal organization that has served the Bronx for more than 10 years, and in this capacity we strive to create justice for the people we serve and invest in the communities where our clients live. We provide clients with free legal representation and advice in criminal and family court and on civil matters, with community-oriented services that combat the causes and consequences of court involvement. More information about our organization can be found at: www.bronxdefenders.org.

For more information, please contact Tania Romero at tani_romero2@yahoo.com

**The NYSYLC is the first undocumented youth-led, membership led, organization that empowers immigrant youth to drop the fear and challenge the broken immigration system through leadership development, grassroots organizing, educational advancement, and a safe space for self-expression.**

Directions: By subway, take the F train to the "2nd Avenue" stop. From the station, take the "1st Avenue & Houston Street" exit and walk north on 1st Avenue away from Houston Street. Make a right on East 3rd Street and walk 2 and a half blocks until you reach #236. Click here for a subway map.

By bus, take the M14A to Avenue A and 3rd Street or the M15 to 2nd Avenue and 3rd Street and walk east. Click here to download a Manhattan bus map.

By car, take the FDR Drive to the Houston Street exit. From Houston Street, make a right on Avenue C and then a left on East 3rd Street.

Accessibility- The Cafe is wheelchair accessible, but we suggest calling ahead so that we can have a ramp in place when you arrive. You can reach the office at 212.780.9386.

PROP’s First Annual Citizen of the City Awards FundraiserOn June 21st, starting at 6 p.m. at Riverside Church on 120th St and Riverside Drive, we will celebrate the first anniversary of PROP's founding in an evening to support our critical work exposing and correcting abusive policing practices. We will honor four of the City's leading social justice activists who have focused their efforts over a period of many years on creating a more safe, livable, and inclusive city for all New Yorkers: Baz Dreisinger, English Professor at John Jay College and Director of the Prison-to-College Pipeline; Khary Lazarre-White, Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Brotherhood/Sister Sol in Harlem; Ivie Koy Gordon, a transwoman and LGBT and Sex Workers' Rights activist; and Robert Pinter, Founder of the Campaign to Stop the False Arrests and a leading PROP activist. There will be live musical performances by Lavender Light Gospel Choir and spiritchild, as well as a silent auction featuring artwork and an impressive array of other offerings and services. The silent auction will go live this Thursday, a week before the fundraiser. Meanwhile, purchase your tickets now!

Saturday, April 28th, 2012

The Eighth Annual Brooklyn Peace Fair 2012

We are thrilled to invite you and your organization to become a part of the Eight Annual Brooklyn Peace Fair on Saturday April 28, 11 pm to 5 pm, at Brooklyn College.

This Peace Fair includes a range of workshop and discussions, musical performances, art exhibits, and children activities which we hope everyone will enjoy. But in addition to discussing the urgent issues before us, we rejuventate and build our connections as a community dedicate to waging peace.

featuring spiritchild & the One Mic Collective with performances and workshops (Hip Hop is Our Life, Hip Hop is Resistance)

Thursday, March 15th, 2012

Featuring international women's rights and anti-racist activist and author Selma James, who is in NYC as part of a ten-city US tour to promote her new book. Sex, Race and Class – the Perspective of Winning spans six decades and traces the development of her pathbreaking perspective — that unwaged work of women in the home and on the land should be recognized as “labor” and compensated.

Proceeds go to the Global Women's Strike tour fund

COLORS is located at 417 Lafayette, NYC 10003

6 to Astor Place / R to 8th St-NYU

Saturday, March 10th, 2012

New London Teen Outreach Program (TOP) presents...Through Our Eyes: New London Teens Challenge StereotypesA Forum and Open Mic event hosted and facilitated by Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School TOP students with special guest spiritchild and his One Mic youth group all the way from New York City.This is a free event and open to everyone!Please come and support the teens of New London!

Thursday, March 8th, 2012

Join us this Thursday at Bar Reis at 8pm for ART START's Winter Music Salon featuring performances by Spiritchild, MC K Swift, Carly DeLight & Jessie Kilguss.It's $7 at the door and 100% of proceeds go to ART START. Come spend time with ART START volunteers, staff members & supporters. It's going to be a great night! Come celebrate ART START and help raise money for our incredible programs. Bar Reis is located at 375 5th Avenue in Brooklyn at the corner of 6th Street. Closest trains: D, N, R, F or G to 4th ave and 9th Street

“His gift is to bring ordinary people together and make them move. It starts with his right hand, which hammers the guitar strings with ferocious commitment and reverberates down to his feet, which tramp in place like an army of one – justice bound.” – IBEW Local 1245 Reporter

Hip-Hop has been gentrified. Folk music has been watered down. Punk rock sold out. In the face of this mainstream betrayal, some of the movement’s most dynamic performers have joined forces to take their respective genres back to the roots, celebrating the role of music in people’s resistance to oppression around the word. Evan Greer and spiritchild are revolutionary artists from radically different musical styles who share a common commitment to using their craft as a tool and a weapon in direct support of grassroots struggles for change. For this concert, they are joined by Bay Area activist singer Jon Fromer, who has brought his blend of folk, blues and country to movements for peace, justice and social change in the San Francisco Bay Area for decades and participants in spiritchild’s youth hip-hop program One Mic Artists.

These inspiring musicians are as likely to be found at an organizing meeting or a protest as on the stage at a club or festival. They don’t just sing about the struggle, they live it every day through constant work in their communities. spiritchild is the founder of Movement in Motion, an international organization of artists and activists who work collectively to use their art to educate and fight for freedom. Evan is a member of the Riot-Folk! Collective, a group of 9 singer/songwriters who collectively distribute their political music, raise money for various grassroots causes, and create alternatives tothe corporate music industry. Jon has played at thousands of picket lines, marches and rallies since the 1960s and currently helps lead and organize music for SOA Watch’s annual mass demonstrations in Ft. Benning, Georgia.

-Friday 7:30 PM: Winter Gathering Concert at the Performing Arts Center of Lawrence High School. The concert will begin at 7:30. Admission is included with weekend registration and is open to the public. Performing will be

-Saturday 7 PM - midnight: Round Robin, An open mic where all attending the gathering are invited to share their song (or poem). Newcomers and kids are especially welcome to share songs, poetry and humor, and special slots are allocated for Energizers. Sing Alongs and group performances encouraged.

-Friday 7:30 PM: Winter Gathering Concert at the Performing Arts Center of Lawrence High School. The concert will begin at 7:30. Admission is included with weekend registration and is open to the public. Performing will be

-Saturday 7 PM - midnight: Round Robin, An open mic where all attending the gathering are invited to share their song (or poem). Newcomers and kids are especially welcome to share songs, poetry and humor, and special slots are allocated for Energizers. Sing Alongs and group performances encouraged.

Saturday, January 21st, 2012

-please share this event on your wall, invite your friends, and spread the word about this awesome show!-

Come on down to the Wesley Foundation on SATURDAY night, Jan 21st at 8:00pm for a radical night of dance-able liberation music featuring touring revolutionary duo BACK TO THE ROOTS (Evan Greer of Riot-Folk! and spiritchild of Mental Notes)

BACK TO THE ROOTS is an explosive and dynamic musical collaboration combining the best elements of underground hip hop, folk, and punk rock and touching on issues from queer liberation to prison justice to gentrification to police brutality to the #Occupy movement.

The duo features South Bronx hip hop freedom singer spiritchild as the emcee and beat-maker and internationally touring radical queer singer/songwriter Evan Greer switching off on a veritable arsenal of acoustic instruments. Together they are an unstoppable force of revolutionary crowd rocking, danceable, riot inciting energy.

The artists of BACK TO THE ROOTS tours worldwide and together have shared stages and collaborated in the studio with artists as musically diverse as Immortal Technique, Pete Seeger, The Coup, Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, Billy Bragg, Dead Prez, Chumbawamba, Gloria Estefan, Lloyd Banks of G-Unit, State Radio, Against Me!, Mr. Lif, and the Last Poets.

"Evan Greer continues to write inspiring folk music in the tradition of the great protest singers ... and (s)he's a heck of a guitar player. I expect songs like !Ya Basta! and Picketline Song will be heard at the barricades for years to come." --Tom Morello, guitarist of Rage Against the Machine

Friday, January 20th, 2012

-please share this event on your wall, invite your friends, and spread the word about this awesome show!- sliding scale 5-15$ no one will be turned away, no one :)

Come Assemble on friday night , Jan 20st at 9pm for a radical night of dance-able liberation music featuring touring revolutionary duo BACK TO THE ROOTS (Evan Greer of Riot-Folk! and spiritchild of Mental Notes)

also featuring Pittsburgh's very own smoki fantastichttp://smokifantastic.com/

BACK TO THE ROOTS is an explosive and dynamic musical collaboration combining the best elements of underground hip hop, folk, and punk rock and touching on issues from queer liberation to prison justice to gentrification to police brutality to the #Occupy movement.

The duo features South Bronx hip hop freedom singer spiritchild as the emcee and beat-maker and internationally touring radical queer singer/songwriter Evan Greer switching off on a veritable arsenal of acoustic instruments. Together they are an unstoppable force of revolutionary crowd rocking, danceable, riot inciting energy.

The artists of BACK TO THE ROOTS tours worldwide and together have shared stages and collaborated in the studio with artists as musically diverse as Immortal Technique, Pete Seeger, The Coup, Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, Billy Bragg, Dead Prez, Chumbawamba, Gloria Estefan, Lloyd Banks of G-Unit, State Radio, Against Me!, Mr. Lif, and the Last Poets.

Check out the single, "Back to the Roots" at http://backtotheroots.bandcamp.com/

More music from spiritchild: www.xspiritmental.com

More music from Evan Greer: www.evangreer.org

"Evan Greer continues to write inspiring folk music in the tradition of the great protest singers ... and (s)he's a heck of a guitar player. I expect songs like !Ya Basta! and Picketline Song will be heard at the barricades for years to come."--Tom Morello, guitarist of Rage Against the Machine

The first Empower Providence event was held on Friday, October 7, 2011 in Downtown, Providence. This is the second event of the Project. The show is also part of the BACK TO THE ROOTS TOUR w/ Evan Greer & spiritchild.

For info/details, visit VenusSings.com and IsisStorm.com. or contact the Office of Multicultural Affairs at RISD, 401-277-4957.

Please join us for an evening of music to celebrate the beginning of a month of intense organizing leading up to the trial of political prisoner, Tarek Mehanna. Tarek is an Arab and Muslim man from the Boston-area who has been framed by the FBI for refusing to inform on his own community. More info on his case and what you can do to support: www.freetarek.com

The Tarek Mehanna Support Committee will be in the house presenting updates on the case and laying out their strategy for action in the weeks leading up to Tarek's trial, which begins Oct 3rd!

SATURDAY, SEPT 10th6pm - 10pm

@ Community Church of Boston565 Boylston StCopley Square, Boston(accessible by green and orange MBTA lines, and many buses.)

The concert celebrates the re-release of Silence Broken Volumes 1 and 2, compilation CDs created to support tarek and his family and spread music about the prison system and state repression. The new CDs will be beautifully packaged in a two CD set and will feature original music from artists all over the world including DAM, Climbing Poetree, Rebel Diaz, X-Vandals (members of Public Enemy and Ricanstruction), Broadcast Live, Remi Kanazi, Maya Azucena, mental notes, Taina Asili, Shadia Mansour, and more. Listen, download, and donate: freetarek.bandcamp.com

Saturday, June 25th, 2011

* Date /Time o Saturday, June 25, 2011; 3:00-5:00pm * Location o The Paradise Theater on the Grand Concourse in the Bronx * Purpose of event o To mark the end of a successful initiative * Intended audience o Bronx residents will receive a ticket to the concert when they get tested for HIV with one of The Bronx Knows community partners between May 27th and June 24th. The Bronx Knows partners will have mobile testing units outside of the theater on the day of the concert to allow anyone who has not yet tested to get tested and gain entry to the concert.

The concert will be co-hosted by Hot 97 radio station and will showcase local Bronx talent including dancers, singers, spoken word artists, slam poets, and other performers.

Friday, June 24th, 2011

spiritchild set...to help you start your weekend right, join us for The Don't Speak Easy Party at MoCADA to celebrate the cast and crew of the musical with performances by NeNe Ali, Mo Beasley, Camille A. Brown, Division X and spiritchild of Mental Notes.

Proceeds from this special evening will contribute to our current campaigns for a more inclusive, vibrant and egalitarian Brooklyn. Through a combination of leadership development, mobilization and political education, we’re organizing for community-led, sustainable development in Fort Greene and Downtown Brooklyn.

By attending the musical and making a contribution, you help FUREE address barriers to real employment opportunities for adults and youth of color, preserve and increase access to low-income housing and intensify our role in local and national coalitions to build the power of low-income communities of color as both voters and grassroots leaders.

Friday, June 24th, 2011

FUNdraiser for Art Start! http://www.therightbraincampaign.org/ Hello ART START Family! For those you new to ART START this will be news to you, for our ART START vets, this is just a reminder about our FUNdraising party on Friday June 24th at Manny's On 2nd - http://www.mannysonsecond.com/ Manny's is generously donating their entire second floor of the bar and an outside terrace for this FUNdraiser Party!

Several of our musicians and performers from our ART START family will be performing and some of our artists will be bringing their art we'll have some poerty read as well! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE invite ALL of your friends now and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE - send them multiple reminders about this, don't feel bad about hounding them- you should guilt trip them into coming to a FUN(draiser) to help homeless kids- its frickin' homeless kids the least they can do is come to support ART START and have FUN(draiser). We're charging $7 at the door, all proceeds going to ART START and its just going to be one big awesome pARTy! We'll also have some sort of raffle or contest going to raise more FUN(ds) as well. The success of this FUN(draiser) is in your hands my friends - its up to each and every one of you to not only come, but to bring a gaggle of friends with you and FUN(draiser) will be had by all! Thanks so much for taking the time to read this! You can use the attached poster to promote the party. Thanks for you support!

I look forward to seeing all of you and your many friends on June 24th@8pm! P.S- Don't forget that we've launched our monthly donor campaign! Could you call PLEASE copy and post this on all of your facebook pages? I've made it easy for you, just copy and paste this: Dear Friends, Help Us Help Kids in Homeless Shelters and other At Risk Youth! For as little as the cost of one cup of coffee a week you can make a huge difference! Please donate to the monthly donor campaign for@ART START! EVERY DOLLAR HELPS! THANKS & PASS THIS ON to everybody you know! http://www.therightbraincampaign.org/ Thanks guys and In case you didn't know the @ before the ART START links us to your post so I can "like" it and thank you!

Year of the Rooster withThe Afro Yaqui Music Collectivefeaturing spitichild (NYC) and Gizelxanath

Come bring 2017 in cross-cultural style as we enter the Year of the Rooster at the James Street Ballroom.The Afro Yaqui Music Collective will be performing works by the late, guggenheim award-winning Fred Ho, whose revolutionary Moneky Orchestra combined grooving jazz-funk with Peking Opera styles and wild improvisation. Met Opera soprano Gizelxanath Rodriguez will be singing a fusion between Peking Opera, Indigenous Yaqui music and the jazz-blues tradition that will bring 2017 in swining.

The band will be joined by hip-hop artist and activist spiritchild from Brooklyn, who is long been an activist in movements of Afro-Asian solidarity in fighting back racism and police brutalitiy.The Afro Yaqui Music Collective is a 9-piece outfit which descends from Fred Ho's Afro Asian revolutionary ensembles and musical concepts. Led by Ben Barson, Ho's Baritone protege who "he felt has the heft and sound to represent [Ho's] assertive approach (The New York Times)," the band will include alumni's of Ho's groups such as trumpet maestro Mark McGowan and trombonist Aaron Johnson, as well as a new generation of musical innovators.

Information on rent lawsInteractive environmental learning activities by the Gowanus Canal ConservancyWhat do you know? Quiz ShowPenny Poll: Military spending and the Federal Budget with BFP’s Peace and Economic JusticeParticipatory Budgeting Petition with Fort Greene SNAP

Various Times

A poetry circle led by Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church Social Justice CommitteeSingle Payer Healthcare Listening booth asking people to share their experiences with lack of access to health care, and problems with insurance with Physicians for a National Healthcare Program (2-4 pm)A Gentrification Tour of Fort Greene led by FUREE (Noon & 2 pm)Community Speak Out: Come share what’s on your mind. War, the military budget and austerity. Connecting money spent on war to local impact, and asking folks to speak to their personal experiences with how war and militarism have affected them. (11:30 am)“Chuck Congressman Schumer” joins a presentation on how your tax dollars are being spent.Speak Out Against Violence Vigil (4:30 pm)